Lemon Cupcakes with Buttercream – Gluten-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

To assemble

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 175°C (345°F) and grease Muffin tin.

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Whip the soft butter with the sugar 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy.

   ⚙ WhippingBowlHand mixerorStand mixerorWhisk

   💡Cream the butter soft, at room temperature: cold butter doesn't take in air, and melted butter doesn't hold it.
3. 3
   Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each until absorbed.

   💡One egg at a time, and only when the previous one is absorbed: that way the emulsion holds and the batter doesn't split into curds.
4. 4
   Add the lemon juice and lemon zest and mix.
5. 5
   Add the gluten-free flour blend, baking powder and salt alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the gluten-free flour blend, and Fold gently, just until no dry gluten-free flour blend remains.

   ⚙ FoldingSilicone spatula

   💡Fold with a spatula, in broad strokes from the bottom up, and stop when there's no dry gluten-free flour blend: vigorous mixing of a batter with gluten-free flour blend develops gluten.
6. 6
   Divide the batter among the cups of Muffin tin, filling each cup to ¾ of its height.

   Muffin tin
7. 7
   Bake 18–20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean.

   ⚙ BakingOvenMuffin tin

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
8. 8
   Let the individual cakes cool completely.
9. 9
   Whip the soft butter on its own, until fluffy and pale.

   ⚙ WhippingBowlHand mixerorStand mixerorWhisk

   💡Room-temperature butter whips into a smooth cream: cold butter stays lumpy, and melted butter won't hold the air.
10. 10
    Add the powdered sugar in two or three additions, then the lemon juice and vanilla, and keep whipping until the cream is smooth.

    Hand mixerorStand mixer
11. 11
    Decorate each individual cake with cream.

    Offset spatula