Strawberry lemonade cakes

I’m not even going to try and pretend I’m not crazy in love with these cupcakes! These are the cupcakes that Mel gives to Phoenix in The Wonderful Thing about Phoenix Rose when they meet up in Coonabarabran. I had the character Olivia Kent bake them in my novel The Cake Maker’s Wish but I knew they’d be perfect for Phoenix’s love of all things lemon.

Years ago I found recipes online for these and thought they would be amazing. But when I went to make them, I found them seriously lacking in flavour. It was so disappointing. I love the intensity of lemon meringue pie and lemon curd so I wasn’t going to accept that. I changed the recipe to boost the flavours, big time. Now they burst with lemon and the seductive aroma and flavour of strawberries. Every mouthful inspires hope and happiness, perfect as a winter warmer to chase away the blues. I’m not going to lie, though – these are not quick to make. But, oh, they are worth it, especially for a special occasion.

Serves: 16, with leftover frosting

Ingredients

Cake part 1

• 125 g butter, room temperature
• zest of three lemons
• 1 cup castor sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract

Cake part 2

• 1¼ cup all-purpose/plain flour (or gluten-free plain flour)
• 3 tbsp arrowroot or cornflour (check it’s gluten-free cornflour if you want them GF)
• 2 tsp baking powder (check specs for GF)
• pinch salt
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup lemon juice

Strawberry buttercream

• 1½ cups frozen or fresh strawberries (hulled)
• 500 g pure icing sugar (check specs for GF)
• 250 g butter
• ¼ tsp vanilla

(Note: These quantities will make more than enough buttercream for your cupcakes. You can reduce these quantities if you wish, keeping the ratio of 2:1 for icing sugar to butter, or freeze the excess and use later for biscuits or a loaf cake of some sort. I always figure that if I’m making something I might as well make a lot of it to freeze some for later.)

Method

Cake preparation

Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced) and line your cupcake trays with paper. (This batch will make approximately 16 cupcakes.)

In a mixing bowl, beat your butter and lemon zest, then add in the sugar and beat again until well mixed and fluffy. Add the egg whites and vanilla and beat to combine.

In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients of ‘Cake Part 2’ together, then add half of it to the butter mixture, mix to combine, then add half the sour cream, mix to combine, then repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and sour cream. Finally, add the lemon juice and beat again to form a batter.

Fill your cupcake papers to two-thirds full and put them into the oven. The cakes will take 20–25 minutes, give or take. (I have a slow oven and mine took 30 minutes.)

Strawberries

Place your strawberries into a blender and blitz until they reach a smooth consistency.

Transfer the strawberries into a small pot and heat on the stove until they are gently boiling, stirring often. Continue to cook them until they have reduced to approximate the colour and consistency of tomato sauce.

Cool the sauce before adding it to the buttercream, otherwise it will melt the butter. (Putting it in the fridge is helpful.)

Buttercream

Make sure your icing sugar is as free of lumps as possible. You may need to dry beat it first. (Bashing the packet on the kitchen bench also helps.)

Beat your icing sugar, butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Add approximately three tablespoons of the strawberry sauce and beat until combined.

You may like to use a piping bag to pipe the cream or simply spoon it on. If you wish, you might like to decorate your cupcakes with extra strawberries or edible flowers for an added touch of beauty.

Enjoy! These really are divine.

Jo x