Lemon Cupcakes with Skyr Frosting

📝 Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 100 g caster sugar (90 g for the batter, 10 g for the syrup)
• 1 plain whole milk yoghurt (125 g)
• 45 ml rapeseed oil (40 g)
• 2 unwaxed lemons (the zest of the 2 lemons and the juice of one for the batter, the juice of the other for the syrup)
• 180 g plain wheat flour
• 1 sachet baking powder (11 g)
• 200 g plain 0% skyr
• 100 g full-fat plain cream cheese
• 50 g icing sugar

🍴 Utensils

• 12-hole muffin tin + 12 paper cases
• Mixing bowl and whisk
• Fine grater
• Fine sieve
• Piping bag with a star nozzle
• Pastry brush

📖 Steps

1. Tip the skyr into a fine sieve lined with kitchen paper, set over a bowl, and leave it to drain in the fridge for the whole time you're making the cupcakes: the frosting will be firmer. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and line the tin with the 12 paper cases.
2. Finely grate the zest of the 2 lemons, avoiding the bitter white pith, then squeeze their juice separately. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with 90 g of sugar for 2 min, until the mixture turns pale and frothy.
3. Add the yoghurt, oil, the juice of one lemon and almost all the zest (keep a pinch for decorating), then whisk until smooth and evenly combined.
4. Sift in the flour and baking powder, then fold in with a spatula just until the flour disappears. Overworked batter gives tough cupcakes with peaked, cracked tops.
5. Divide the batter between the paper cases, filling them two-thirds full, about 2 heaped tbsp each. Bake for 18 to 20 min, until the tops are lightly golden and the tip of a knife inserted in the centre comes out dry.
6. Mix the juice of the second lemon with 10 g of sugar. As soon as the cupcakes come out of the oven, prick each one 4 or 5 times with a cocktail stick and brush with this syrup. Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely, at least 45 min.
7. Whisk the well-chilled cream cheese with the icing sugar for 30 s to loosen it, then fold in the drained skyr with a spatula, without overbeating so it doesn't turn runny. Chill the frosting in the fridge for 15 min.
8. Spoon the frosting into the piping bag and pipe a rosette onto each cupcake, working from the outside in towards the centre. Sprinkle with the reserved zest and keep in the fridge until serving, allowing 2 cupcakes per portion. Never frost warm cupcakes: the frosting would melt.