I have to say that I’m still finding it hard to find the inspiration to ramble before recipes, so my thinking is maybe that talking about it will ignite inspiration. I guess the thing about writing is that if one doesn’t feel like it, one finds it a rather hard thing to force. It makes me wonder how people who are paid to write for a living, something which I’m interested in, manage to do it so regularly and to, in some cases, such a good standard. Perhaps it’s the fact that they usually have something defined to write about and therefore it doesn’t have to come entirely off the top of their head. Then again, for many money is inspiration, something necessary which draws out the best, and worst, in people. I like to think that this particular recipe has drawn my best!
A number of people have asked over the past six months how I intended to make money from this blog. Of course this is unlikely ever to happen, nor do I want it to happen – I blog because I love to both cook and write. Does anyone else have any defined views on this topic? My opinion is that I always wanted this to be a personal space in which to share enjoyable recipes with people who care. If it helps me showcase what talent I may or may not have then great, but I would be sad if it ever because some kind of “cash cow”. Clearly this is going to sound like I knew I would find inspiration and that it was purposefully ironic that I rambled about lacking the inspiration to write – that wasn’t the intention.
Anyway, time to turn indulgence away from myself and towards some rather divine cupcakes. I’d advise my readers only to make these if either you really bloody love cupcakes, or if you have a rather full house – they are very sweet. I guess this isn’t really a criticism of the cakes, but a criticism of my cupcake eating ability and of the lonely nature of my house – they really are great. However, I can only keep a little of the thanks for such lovely cakes for myself as I used a recipe from the inimitable GoodFood website. Indeed, it is very nearly unchanged, something I suppose one should be ashamed of – but why would one change what is already perfect?
Lemon and Poppy Seed Cupcakes {recipe}
Makes 16-18
Ingredients:
• 225g self-raising flour
• 175g golden caster sugar
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 3 eggs
• 100g natural or greek yoghurt
• 175g butter gently melted
For the Icing:
• 225g butter, softened (margarine works but it’ll be a little loose)
• 400g icing sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon
Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C, line a 16 hole muffin tin with cupcake cases. Mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest and poppy seeds together in a bowl. Beat together the eggs and the yoghurt until smooth, add this along with the melted butter to the flour mixture. Whisk until smooth and divide equally into the paper cases, you may need a couple more than 16. Bake for around 25 minutes, or until they stop making cake noises. Allow to cool for a couple of hours.
2. To make the icing simply beat all the ingredients together until smooth. I’m really bad at this, so my icing isn’t particularly inspirational – except in taste. Finish off with a few extra poppy seeds. Allow the icing to set a little and eat!
Cost: This whole batch of cupcakes should cost between £2.80 and £3.00 to bake. They are simply divine and I insist you must all try them. I’m afraid due to my lack of icing skills they don’t look that fancy, but they are so moist and tasty.
I’m so glad I found your blog. These recipes look amazing and like dishes I would actually make. Lemon and poppy seed is my son’s favorite. I often make muffins but these cupcakes look delicious! I am bookmarking the page. Thanks!
Thanks so so much! Please come back! New recipe tomorrow.
I just tried these, and they’re delicious – very light – but the amounts were way off, I wonder what I did differently? I weighed my ingredients and followed the recipe’s amounts, but I got 30 cupcakes rather than 16+ a few. Maybe I just have smaller pattypans?
The icing recipe I could have halved and still had too much; I generously iced all 30 cupcakes and still had more than half the bowl leftover. I guess I’ll have to bake something else to ice:)
Lovely result; but if I make them again I’ll put a little lemon juice in the cupcakes as well as the zest, and make less icing, also cut the amount of butter in the icing. A little *too* rich for my tastebuds!
ahha, that’s very strange… perhaps your cups were smaller. They are VERY rich, but it means you only have 1 a day then. Thanks, I’m really glad you baked them!
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I’ve had a jar of poppy seeds sitting my cupboard for awhile now, looks like I need to put them to some good use. Looks delicious!
You should! Thanks a lot
I am with you on the blog stakes. There is nothing worse that selling your blog out to make money out of it. Unless you started it for this purpose and are up front about what you do your blog ends up suffering and your dear constant readers will soon get sick of you pushing whatever product has been shoved into your mailbox/inbox at any given time. I have thrown numerous blogs into the ether, never to return as soon as they hit “sell out” point and find that the compromise that having to review (always positively and with a hint of servitude and boot licking that makes me entirely ill to see…) products gives to your blog is not worth the returns. I know that people make money out there…I know that you might end up with stoves, cars, a movie career…but is it really worth it? Not to me it isn’t! This recipe looks wonderful (as usual)…I would bypass the icing and would make a simple lemon syrup (maybe studded with a few bits of fresh jalapeno chilli because I am trying to think of what to do with an overabundent harvest this year and am too scared to attempt the full homemade chipotle recipe…) and gently skewer the cakes with a toothpick and would ladle syrup slowly over the top. The addition of the yoghurt would make these cakes amazingly moist and the intense lemon flavour and the crunch of the poppy seeds (which we grow here in Tasmania) would give these cupcakes a wonderful sensory kick.
Indeed! I don;t want to sell out. I’d never review a product here… ever. They were very moist indeed
I love how well the lemon and popyseed combination lends itself to both sweet and savory applications. I’ve made a fair share of lemon and poppyseed muffins/cupcakes, as well as some wonderful lemon poppyseed salad dressing recently. The crunch from the poppyseeds is always surprising and delightful. These cupcakes look rather wonderful. I’m sure the lemon zest adds a nice tang!
Exactly! Such a wonderful, versatile ingredient!
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