Bakeland. Marit Hovland

       LEMON POPPY SEED CUPCAKES

      makes 18 cupcakes

      “Look, a brimstone butterfly! That means summer is here!” I remember reading in a book when I was a child. Have you ever seen a butterfly roll out its portable straw and suck up the nectar? Say hello to summer with these refreshing and moist lemon cupcakes.

       Butterflies

      1 egg white

      1 tsp lemon juice

      approximately 1⅔ cups (200 g) icing sugar

      yellow liquid gel food coloring

      Start by making the icing butterflies. They need time to dry, preferably overnight. Follow the instructions on page 188 to make icing with the egg white, lemon juice, and icing sugar, adding a few drops of yellow food coloring. Follow the instructions on the next page to shape the butterflies.

       Lemon cupcakes

      ½ cup (100 g) butter, at room temperature

      1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

      3 eggs

      1⅔ cups (200 g) all-purpose flour

      2 tsp baking powder

      ½ tsp salt

      zest of 2 lemons

      ⅔ cup (150 ml) lemon juice

      ¼ cup (30 g) poppy seeds

      Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Line two 12-cup muffin pans with 18 liners (leave the rest of the cups empty).

      Using a handheld mixer, whip the butter and sugar together in a bowl until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.

      In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift this into the egg mixture and fold it in with a rubber spatula. Stir in the lemon zest, juice, and poppy seeds. Fill the muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.

       Syrup

      juice of ½ lemon