Raspberry lemonade cupcakes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180^oC
2. Line a 12-hole patty pan with Multix large coloured patty pans (we used yellow ones).
3. In a mixer, cream together the sugar and butter until it’s light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Once all the eggs are beaten in, add the sifted flour, salt, milk and the lemon zest, then beat until you have a smooth batter. Divide the mixture between the 12 Multix patty pans, to about ½ full. Bake at 170^oC for about 15 minutes or until the cupcakes are well risen and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
4. While the cupcakes are baking, make the lemon syrup.  Add the lemon juice and sugar to a small pan, on medium low heat, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and while the cupcakes are still warm from the oven, drizzle a little of the lemon syrup on each one.

For the raspberry icing

1. To save washing up, use the same pan you used for the lemon syrup,  add ½ cup of the raspberries and the juice of half a lemon. Cook on a low heat, until the juices start to run and fruit collapses. Mash them with a fork and cook for another minute. Place the cooked raspberries in a fine wire sieve over a small bowl. Use the back of a spoon to push the raspberries pulp through the sieve until all you have left is a few seeds, making sure you scrap off the underside of the sieve to get all the pulp off. Discard the pips and allow to cool.

For the icing

1. Add the softened butter to a mixer with the whisk attachment fitted. Beat the butter until it’s light and fluffy, then at a slow speed, add the sifted icing sugar a little at a time. When all the sugar is added, pour in the raspberry pulp a spoonful at a time, until its all incorporated – making sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl while you do this.
2. Fit the large star nozzle to the Multix piping bag. Transfer the raspberry icing into the bag, them pipe a high swirl of icing from the outside to the inside of each cake. Decorate with raspberries and coloured straws.