Olympic Torch Cupcakes

• Lemon Cupcakes:
• 175g of self raising flour, sieved
• 110g of butter
• 110g of castor sugar
• 2 free range egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• grated rind of 1 lemon
• Ice cream cones (for use after cooking)
• Sugar Shards:
• *Note you will need a candy thermometer to make this correctly.
• 2 dessert spoons of vodka
• A few drops of red food coloring
• A few drops of orange food coloring
• A few drops of black food coloring, less than the red and orange
• 125ml of water
• 150g of granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of golden syrup / corn syrup
• Lemon Butter Icing:
• 200g of icing sugar, sieved
• 80g of butter, softened
• 4 teaspoons of lemon juice
• 2/3 drops of yellow food colouring

1. Lemon Cupcakes:
2. Line a muffin tin with small bun cases. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The old fashioned paper cupcake cases work best as they are small enough to fit in a store bought sugar cone.
3. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the bun cases. Place the cupcakes in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
4. Sugar Shards:
5. Begin by crumpling up a large sheet of parchment paper. Then smooth out the parchment paper and place it on a large baking sheet. Drop the vodka in random spots on the parchment paper. I applied the coloring using the back of a spoon. You could also use a silicone brush. I placed the color in lines on the parchment paper i.e. a line of red, a line of orange. I applied the black with a toothpick as I didn't want there to be too much black.
6. Heat the sugar, water and golden syrup over a medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has melted, turn the heat up and cook on a high heat. Continue to cook the sugar without stirring until it reaches 300 degrees. Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature is correct. Carefully pour the molten sugar syrup onto the prepared parchment paper. Once it is safely on the parchment paper, you can use a toothpick to create swirls between the colors.
7. Leave to harden for a few hours in a cool place. I left mine in the freezer for an hour before cracking the hardened sugar into shards.
8. Lemon Butter Icing:
9. Place the softened butter in a large bowl and soften, by mixing with a wooden spoon, or beating with an electric mixer. Once you have softened the butter add the icing sugar a little at time and beat well between each addition. As soon as you have combined the butter and the icing sugar, add the lemon juice and coloring and beat well.

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Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/olympic-torch-cupcakes-51501211 (may not work)