Mini Lemon Cakes Recipes

LEMON DROP MINI CAKES

Steps:

• Spray mini muffin pans with non-stick spray; set aside.
• Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl; set aside.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add water and bring to a boil.
• Pour hot mixture over dry ingredients and beat with a hand beater till barely blended. Beat in the sour cream, egg, zest, and lemon juice till smooth.
• Scoop batter into muffin pans. Bake at 325° for about 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then turn onto cooling racks. Cool completely before glazing.
• Dip lemon drops top side down into the glaze. Let excess glaze drip off into the bowl, then invert lemon drops bottom side down onto cooling racks. (Place waxed paper underneath the cooling racks for easier clean up.) Let sit till glaze hardens.

MINI OLIVE OIL CAKES WITH LEMON GLAZE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Prepare the cakes: Brush a 6- or 12-cup mini Bundt or muffin pan with the melted butter. Lightly dust with flour and shake out the excess.
• Pulse the granulated sugar and lemon zest in a blender until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, then gradually pour in the olive oil and milk, pulsing until emulsified into a thin batter, about 30 seconds. Don't overblend or the cakes will be too puffy.
• Whisk 1 cup flour, the baking powder, salt and 1 teaspoon thyme in a small bowl. Add to the blender in 2 batches, pulsing lightly until just combined; stop to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cakes just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and spring back when lightly touched, 28 to 30 minutes for a 6-cup Bundt pan and 22 to 25 minutes for a 12-cup Bundt or muffin pan. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then loosen the sides with a small knife and invert the cakes onto a rack.
• Meanwhile, prepare the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and butter until smooth, adding more lemon juice if the mixture is too thick. Drizzle over the warm cakes and garnish with thyme sprigs.

MINI LEMON SPONGE CAKES

Steps:

• Make the cakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan. Beat the egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar, the vanilla and lemon zest in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale, fluffy and doubled in volume, 3 to 6 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan with a few inches of water to a simmer, then turn off the heat. Combine the egg whites and salt in a large heatproof bowl and place on top of the saucepan (do not let the bowl touch the water). With clean dry beaters, beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 1 minute, then increase the speed to medium high and gradually add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar; continue beating until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 more minutes. If the mixture gets too hot, remove the bowl from the pan.
• Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture with a rubber spatula in four batches, sifting in the flour in alternating batches. It's OK if some streaks remain -- do not overmix. Remove 1/2 cup of the batter to a small bowl and whisk in the melted butter, then gently fold back into the batter. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until the centers spring back when pressed, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes in the pan on a rack, then loosen with a paring knife and remove to the rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Place a fine-mesh sieve in a medium bowl and set in a larger bowl of ice water. Whisk 1/4 cup milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, the egg yolks and cornstarch in a separate medium bowl until smooth. Heat 1 cup milk, 2 tablespoons sugar and the salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until steaming, whisking to dissolve the sugar. Whisking constantly, gradually pour the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, whisking frequently, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes, then continue whisking for 30 more seconds. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Immediately strain into the bowl set in the ice water and let cool, stirring occasionally, until lukewarm. Remove from the ice water, press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the filling and refrigerate until completely cooled. When ready to assemble the cakes, whisk in the lemon curd, limoncello and lemon juice. Whip the heavy cream in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the filling.
• Make the lemon syrup: Combine the water, sugar and lemon zest in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat. Stir in the limoncello. Let the syrup cool.
• Fill the cakes: Trim the domed tops of the cakes to make them level (this will be the bottom). With a paring knife, cut a 1 1/2-inch-wide hole in the cakes; scoop out some of the inside to make a cavity, reserving the scraps. Brush the insides with some of the lemon syrup, then fill with the lemon filling, reserving the rest of the filling for the glaze. Close the hole with the cake scraps. Brush the cakes all over with the syrup until all the syrup is used.
• Glaze the cakes: Place the cakes trimmed-side down on a rack set on a baking sheet. Whisk 5 to 6 tablespoons milk into the reserved lemon filling until pourable. Spoon over each cake to completely cover. Transfer to a platter and refrigerate, uncovered, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Garnish the cakes: Beat the heavy cream and sugar in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe around and on top of each cake. Top with candied lemon peel.

MINI LEMON TARTS

Steps:

• Mix flour, butter, and salt together in the bowl of an electric stand mixer, or with a pastry blender, until dough becomes crumbly. Add ice water, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the consistency is smooth. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 12-cup cupcake pan.
• Roll out dough on a cutting board and cut into 3-inch circles using a scalloped cookie cutter. Place dough into the prepared pan, pressing down the sides to fit.
• Combine egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, butter, and lemon zest in a heavy, non-aluminum saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted and filling thickens slightly. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl and cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Pour filling into the dough cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling is set, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

LIGHT LEMON MINI CAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Generously grease 8 fluted tube muffin cups with cooking spray or shortening. In medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• In large bowl, beat remaining ingredients with whisk until well blended. Gradually beat in flour mixture until well combined and batter is fluffy. Divide batter evenly among fluted muffin cups.
• Bake 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 2 minutes. Place cooling rack upside down over muffin pan. Turn rack and pan over; remove pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

MINI LEMON MASCARPONE CHEESECAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil two 12-cup muffin tins. Cut parchment paper into twenty-four 5x1-inch strips and place one strip in each cup so it runs down the center.
• In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter and divide evenly between the muffin tins. Press the crust firmly into the bottom of the muffin cups.
• In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, mascarpone, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, Sugar In The Raw®, Stevia In The Raw®, and vanilla until completely smooth. Divide cheese mixture between muffin cups.
• Bake cheesecakes until set, about 25 minutes, rotating the pans in the oven halfway through baking. Let cool completely in the pans, then use the parchment strips to lift the cheesecakes out. Refrigerate to chill completely.

MINI LEMON CHEESECAKES

Steps:

• Mix all of the cheesecake ingredients together (the cream cheese, lemon, icing sugar and double cream) make sure it is well mixed, and you are getting lots of air into the mixture. Also make sure the lemon juice and rind is mixed in evenly into the mixture.
• Heat up your butter until it is melted (either on the hob or in the microwave).
• Mash up your biscuits into tiny pieces and put them in a bowl and mix in your melted butter.
• Press your biscuit base into moulds (you can use cake cases or no mould, but I find it easier to use one than not).
• Pile your cheesecake mix on top of the biscuit base in each mould, smoothing down the mixture on top and then leave in the fridge until serving (leave in the fridge for a minimum of half an hour, as the cheesecake is much better when served cool). When they are ready to serve, simply pop them out of the moulds, and enjoy!

MINI LEMON POUND CAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place mini paper baking cup in each of 60 mini muffin cups; spray paper cups with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating until blended. Beat on medium speed 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. On low speed, beat in flour and salt until smooth. Beat in lemon peel and juice. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
• Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely. Sprinkle cakes with powdered sugar before serving.