Lemon simnel cupcakes

Name: Lemon simnel cupcakes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 500 g Cooks' Homebaking Golden Marzipan; 150 g Tate + Lyle Light Muscovado Sugar; 150 g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 150 g self-raising flour; 2 large Waitrose British Blacktail Free Range Eggs; 125 g mixed fruit; 2 lemons, both zested and juice of 1; 1 tsp icing sugar, to dust; 2 tbsp apricot jam

A fun, zesty twist on the traditional simnel cake.

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Vegetarian

Makes12
CourseCake
Prepare20 mins
Cook20 mins
Total time40 mins
Pluscooling

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Ingredients

500g Cooks' Homebaking Golden Marzipan
150g Tate + Lyle Light Muscovado Sugar
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
150g self-raising flour
2 large Waitrose British Blacktail Free Range Eggs
125g mixed fruit
2 lemons, both zested and juice of 1
1 tsp icing sugar, to dust
2 tbsp apricot jam

Method

Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases. Cut off an 80g piece of marzipan, then set aside the larger piece for later. Cut the smaller piece into 12 equal chunks.
Place the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl and beat together until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl down after each addition. Fold in the flour along with the mixed fruit, lemon juice and half the zest. Add a spoonful of mixture to each case, place a chunk of marzipan in the centre, then top each evenly with the rest of the mixture. Bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes, until risen and golden, then allow to cool on a wire rack.
Sprinkle a little icing sugar on the work surface and roll out the remaining marzipan. Using a small cookie cutter (about 6cm) cut out 12 circles, saving the leftover marzipan.
To decorate the cupcakes, take off the paper cases. Brush on a little apricot jam then place on the circles of marzipan. Shape the leftover marzipan into 12 balls, then place one in the centre of each cupcake, using some jam to help secure if necessary. Place them on a baking tray and pop under a hot grill for 1 minute until the marzipan is lightly browned. Finish with a small sprinkling of lemon zest.