Lemon Magic Cake Cupcakes – custard 1 batter 3-layer cake turned into cupcakes with nice lemon aroma and not too sweet.
Well, you asked for it! “Has anyone ever tried this recipe as cupcakes?” “Is there any way to make this into a lemon cake?” “Would this work for cupcakes?” “Could you make this with lemon juice & zest for a lemon flavored magic cake?” “Anyone know if you can make in cupcake size?” you asked.
Yes, you can!
Adding lemon juice and zest definitely works. Cupcakes have a nice lemon aroma and they are not too sweet. I would not suggest adding more sugar because sugar is heavy and it would prevent the dough from rising. If you like it very sweet, you could add a few drops of sweetener (like stevia).
If you fill cupcake pan right to rim, cupcakes will form nicely shaped domes. But the moment you take them out from the oven, they fall a little flat (I guess it is because there is very little flour in the dough). Layers are not as distinct as with the large Magic Cake but you can still see them.
Even though Magic Cake is usually served just sprinkled with powdered sugar, I added some whipped cream to make cupcakes look prettier.
- 4 eggs separated, at room temperature
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons (5.3 oz 150 g) sugar
- 1 stick + 2 tsp butter melted, (125 g)
- 3/4 cup (4 oz 115 g) flour
- 1 1/2 cups + 3 Tbsp milk lukewarm, 420 ml
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 lemons, juice (about 1/3 cup; 80 ml) and zest
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In a bowl, mix egg whites with 1 tsp lemon juice until stiff.
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In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with water, sugar and vanilla until light. Add melted butter and beat for another minute. Add the flour and mix it in.
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Then add the lukewarm milk (if it is not lukewarm, the butter will harden), lemon juice and zest and beat until well incorporated.
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Using a spatula, gently fold in beaten egg whites.
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Pour the batter in paper-lined cupcake pan (standard size pan for 12 cupcakes), filling right to rim. Bake in preheated 325 F oven for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden.
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Cool for at least 3 hours before serving. Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar.
For basic large Magic Cake recipe:
Click here!
For Banana Magic Cake recipe:
Click here!
For Pumpkin Magic Cake recipe:
Click here!
Kristy says
I was so excited to finely be able to do this recipe. It isnt bad but I wish it had a little more sweetness to it.
Benita says
I’ve just made this and it is in the oven cooking as I type. Fingers crossed it turns out even half as nice as all of your cakes and variations look.
I did want to point out though that 420ml is not 1 1/2 cups. It should be 375mls.
I, unfortunately, put the 420mls in and only just noticed the discrepancy now so I am hoping that the extra 45mls doesn’t mess up the whole thing.
KitchenNostalgia says
420 ml is correct amount of milk. It is conversion to cups that I have trouble with. I have to pitchers with measurements. One “says” that 420 ml is 1 1/2 cup, while in the other it turns out to be 1 1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp.
Mia Seagraves says
Can you make these as mini cupcakes?
KitchenNostalgia says
You can make these as mini cupcakes, but I’m not sure whether you’ll see the layers since they will be so tiny.
Danielle Grimmer says
I noticed you have down 2 cups of lemon juice and that seems a lot …did you actually mean 2 tablespoons instead?
KitchenNostalgia says
What I meant was to take 2 lemons, grate their rind to get lemon zest and squeeze them to get the juice. In this way I got about 1/3 cup or 80 ml of juice which I then used in the recipe.
Sally says
I made these and did not put them together slowly. They fell and I will most likely try the cake version next time. The whip cream is a good good idea as it will cover the flat top.