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My Gluten Free Lemon Cupcake Recipe (dairy free option)

Looking for the ULTIMATE gluten free lemon cupcake recipe? Here's my easy to follow recipe that results in perfect little cupcakes!

Ingredients

For the cakes

  • 175 g gluten free self raising flour
  • 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
  • 175 g butter (or dairy free alternative)
  • 175 g caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 lemons, zested
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

For the lemon curd

  • 2 lemons (zest and juice of both)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 110 g butter (a dairy free hard margarine or block if necessary)
  • 160 g caster sugar

For the lemon buttercream

  • 200 g butter, room temperature - it should be soft but not too soft! (or dairy free alternative - though for dairy free I always feel like you need a little more icing sugar as it holds slightly less well)
  • 455 g icing sugar, sieved
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2-4 lemon zest (optional, but I love zest in my buttercream)

Instructions

For the lemon curd

  • Firstly (if making yourself) make your lemon curd (you might want to do this ahead of time so it has plenty of time to cool down). Add your eggs to a sauce pan and whisk (hand whisk not electric) to combine.
  • Add the rest of your ingredients and pop it on a medium heat. Whisk your mixture, allowing the butter to melt and then continue to mix for a further 10 minutes (approx) until the lemon curd starts to thicken slightly. (Don't let it boil)
  • Leave to cool completely before popping it into a glass jar to thicken further in the fridge. It's then ready to use for the cakes!

For the cupcakes

  • Preheat your oven to 180C (160C Fan) and place cupcake cases into your tin.
  • Add all your ingredients into a bowl and beat together with an electric hand whisk until smooth and mixed.
  • Spoon the mixture evenly between your cupcake cases, about 2/3rds full. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until a skewer comes out cleanly and they are golden on top.
  • Allow them to completely cool on a cooling rack.

For the buttercream

  • For the buttercream, ensure your butter is soft. I find it take a good hour out of the fridge, but never let it go too soft! Place your butter into a stand mixer and mix on a medium speed for about 5 minutes until the butter has gone a lot more pale in colour.
  • Add your icing sugar gradually. I add it in 2-3 stages and beat for about 3 minutes between each addition. Start your mixer slowly to save your kitchen from a real icing sugar mess, but then increase the speed to medium / high for each of your 3 minutes.
  • Add in your lemon zest and lemon juice (juice add half and then add the second half after its incorporated). Beat for a further 3 minutes and it should then be done. Ensure it's the right thickness, it should be if you've beaten it for long enough. However, if it's too thick you can add a tiny amount of milk or extra lemon juice. And if too thin, sieve in a little extra icing sugar - this might be the case for dairy free.

For the assembly of the cupcakes

  • Once the cupcakes and lemon curd are cool you need to make little holes in your cupcakes to fill with the lemon curd. I use one of my piping nozzles to gently push into the centre of the cupcake and remove a bit. You could use a knife and remove a little too. Just make sure you don't go too deep as you need some of the cake beneath to hold the filling!
  • Spoon some lemon curd into the hole you've made in each cupcake.
  • Spoon your buttercream into a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Then pipe your buttercream on top.
  • Finish with a little lemon zest on top. Enjoy!