Lemon and white chocolate makes for an amazing flavour combination. Just a couple of teaspoons of zest adds a wonderful depth of flavour to these cupcakes, which is complimented perfectly by the smooth and silky white chocolate. These cupcakes are not overly sweet and are wonderfully light and fluffy. They have a hint of lemon and delicious white chocolate morsels in almost every bite. Even on the second day, the cupcake still remains soft and light.

To give the frosting a pale yellow colour I used ground turmeric, I promise you won’t be able to taste it. Turmeric does stain, so you may want to use a disposable piping bag. I have also added some pure lemon extract to the frosting to give a pleasant and subtle lemony flavour.

I use the Sweet William brand of white chocolate. This product is free from gluten, dairy, nuts, GMO and it is also suitable for Vegans. However, it does contain soy.

Most citrus fruit are coated in a thin layer of wax, not unless you have bought organic/unwaxed fruit. Before zesting, the lemon will need to be scrubbed well in hot soapy water and then thoroughly rinsed; this will remove the majority of the wax. After rinsing make sure you dry the lemon well before zesting. The easiest way to remove the zest is with a microplane grater. When zesting you only need to remove the coloured zest, be careful not to grate into the white pith layer, because this has quite a bitter flavour.

For accurate cup measurements, I sift the potato starch and icing sugar before measuring, so that there are no lumps/clumps. All cup measurements are firmly packed. I broke off small individual pieces from my large block of chocolate and each small piece weighed 4 grams (0.1 ounce). When the pieces were placed into a measuring cup, it was approximately a scant ⅓ cup.

Update:  I have found when I use a 2D piping tip instead of a plain star tip, I need to increase the frosting measurements. I increase the icing sugar to 262g (9.2 ounces or 1¾ cups plus 1 tablespoon), the butter to 94g (3.3 ounces or ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon) and the pure lemon extract to ½ teaspoon (2.5ml).

Makes 12 

Ingredients
Dry
50g (1.8 ounces or ½ cup minus 2 scant tablespoons) white rice flour
39g (1.4 ounces or ⅓ cup) almond meal/flour
25g (0.9 ounces or 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) potato starch
20g (0.7 ounces or 2 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon) sorghum flour
10g (0.4 ounces or 1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon) sweet rice flour
8g (0.3 ounces or 1 tablespoon) tapioca starch
1 teaspoon (5ml) baking powder
½ teaspoon (2.5ml) xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon (1.25ml) bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
⅛ teaspoon (0.625ml) salt
Wet
125g (4.4 ounces or ½ cup plus 1 scant tablespoon) gluten and dairy free butter
120g golden/raw caster sugar (4.2 ounces or ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons)
90ml (5 tablespoons) dairy free milk of choice, at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Stir through
52g (1.8 ounces or a scant ⅓ cup) gluten and dairy free white chocolate
Frosting
210g (7.4 ounces or 1½ cups minus 1 scant tablespoon) pure icing sugar
75g (5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) gluten and dairy free butter
¼ teaspoon (1.25ml) pure lemon extract
2 generous pinches of ground turmeric
Finely grated gluten and dairy free white chocolate to garnish

Preheat the oven to 160C and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Chop the chocolate quite finely.

Sift together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together with a handheld mixer or stand mixer, which will take a couple of minutes.

Next, add the egg and beat until light and fluffy, before adding the lemon zest and mixing until combined.

Add half of the dry ingredients, then pour in half of the milk and mix on a low speed until combined. Now add the rest of the flour and milk before mixing again until thoroughly combined.

Use a spatula to gently fold through the chopped white chocolate.

Use a spoon and ¾ fill the cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes.

Once cooked, allow the cupcakes to cool in the tin for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, add the icing sugar, turmeric, butter and lemon extract to a bowl. Using a handheld mixer, start mixing on a low speed until combined and then turn up the speed and continue to beat until light and fluffy.

Transfer the frosting to a piping bag or you can of course use a spatula and spread the frosting over the cupcakes.

Then all that is left to do is finely grate some white chocolate over the top and you’re done!!

Recipe by: The Gluten & Dairy Free Bakehouse

Note: all recipe oven temperatures shown are for a fan forced electric oven. Please refer to the below guide to help you adjust your oven accordingly. This recipe is shown in bold.

Oven Temperatures Chart
130C = 110C fan = 250F = Gas mark 1
150C = 130C fan = 300F = Gas mark 2
160C = 140C fan = 320F = Gas mark 3
180C = 160C fan = 350F = Gas mark 4
190C = 170C fan = 375F = Gas mark 5
200C = 180C fan = 400F = Gas mark 6
220C = 200C fan = 425F = Gas mark 7
230C = 210C fan = 450F = Gas mark 8