So, this week’s blog is less about the bake and more about what the cupcakes mean. This weekend is Remembrance weekend, so I thought I would make lemon and poppy seed cupcakes with poppies made out of icing. The cupcakes themselves were really simple and it’s a flavour I’ve never done before. I was going to try and make my own poppies but when I was in Lakeland I saw some cutters that made making them so much easier. It was even better because some of the money went to the Royal British Legion.
For the cake mixture, I added 175g self raising flour, caster sugar, butter, 3 eggs and 1 teaspoon of baking powder to a bowl. It’s great being at home and having a whisk that actually works. I’m not the biggest fan of lemon but I know my family are, I tend to avoid lemon at all costs, to be fair these cupcakes were actually pretty nice. I added the zest from 1 lemon and the juice of half a lemon. It smelled pretty strong, I wasn’t having my family say they couldn’t taste the lemon. I also added about 3 tablespoons of poppy seeds. I used a mix of silver cupcake cases and some red and white cases. I actually liked the red and white cases more than the silver ones once they were baked. I made 16 cupcakes from this recipe and I baked them for 15 minutes at 175 degrees. I then let them cool, before I made the buttercream. Along with these cupcakes I made some cupcakes for Bon Fire night, which you can see on my Instagram, the blog for them will be up next week.
For the buttercream I added 200g butter and 400g of icing sugar. I hate having buttercream leftover, and for me this made the perfect amount for once. I added some lemon juice and a dash of milk, until it became a soft consistency. I put the buttercream into a piping bag with a round nozzle. For the poppies I rolled out some red icing. I didn’t have a rolling pin so I used a glass instead. The poppy cutters were a mix between English poppies and Scottish poppies. I did a range of sizes and put different ones on each cupcake. They did look really simple but they were perfect. The poppies didn’t take long to make at all and Lakeland is perfect for baking supplies, and these cutters were a perfect find this week.
At the end of the day this weekend is all about remembering all the people who have fought past or present and specifically the end of World War One. It’s so important to wear a poppy around this time of year, and never forgetting any sacrifice that so many brave people have made, we should always remember them. Above is a photo of the poppy we have in our living room, from the Tower of London poppy display. It hangs with pride in our house in a lovely display. Next week’s blog will be a little autumnal special of caramel apple cupcakes I made for Bon Fire night, but you’ll have to wait for that blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog and have a lovely week.
Lots of love,
Hannah x
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