Lemon and blueberry cupcakes

I refuse to accept that Autumn is on its way after the lovely summer we’ve had in London. And these little cupcakes are making the colder days just that little bit more bearable…

By plonking blueberries into the bottom of the batter, you get a lovely blueberry jam that forms with the zesty lemon cake. It is de-lish.

The best thing about these little pretties though is the cheesecake frosting. A mix of cream cheese, butter, sour cream and icing sugar, words cannot describe how good it is! A little naughty, but hey, blueberries are one of your five a day, right?

Makes 12 cupcakes:

125g softened butter
125g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
100g self raising flour (sifted)
2 tbsp of milk
2 lemons

For the frosting:

200g cream cheese
25g butter
1 tbsp sour cream
200g icing sugar

1. Heat the oven to 180°C and set out 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tray. Drop 3 blueberries into each of the cases.
2. Beat together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Add the eggs, flour, milk, the zest of the two lemons and little squeeze of juice. Fold the batter until smooth.
3. Spoon 1 tbsp of mixture into each case, over the blueberries, and bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.
4. Once cool, beat the cream cheese, butter and sour cream in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the icing sugar until smooth.
5. Dunk a spoonful of icing onto each cupcake and top with blueberries.

Bagels with salmon and cream cheese

These are super easy and fun to make! I left mine plain but you can sprinkle poppy or sesame seeds on top for added flavour. They’re perfect for a laid-back lunch or brunch.

Makes 10 bagels:

450g strong white bread flour, sifted

2 tsp salt

4 tbsp sugar

7g dried yeast

300ml warm water

To serve:

240g smoked salmon

200g cream cheese

1 lemon

1. In a large bowl, mix the yeast with 1tbsp sugar and 100ml of the warm water. Leave this for 10 minutes until bubbles appear on top and it becomes frothy.
2. Pour the remaining 200ml of water into the bowl, stir in the salt and 225g of the flour. Keep adding the remaining flour, mixing with your hand as you go along. When you have a soft dough that isn’t sticky, you can stop adding any leftover flour.
3. Knead for 10 minutes until the dough feels elastic and smooth. Shape this into a ball and leave in a clean, oiled bowl for 1 hour – covered loosely with cling film. If you can, try to find somewhere warm where it can rise until it’s doubled in size.
4. Heat your oven to 200C/gas 7 and bring a large, wide pan of water to boil with the remaining sugar added to it.
5. Lightly flour your worktop and divide the dough into 10 little flatish balls – they each should weigh around 80g. Take a wooden spoon and use the handle to make a hole in the middle of each one, twirling the bagel around the spoon to make a hole about 3cm wide.
6. Lay the bagels on a lightly oiled tray and cover loosely with cling film while you finish shaping the remaining dough.
7. Slip the bagels, three or four at a time, into the boiling water. Cook for 1-2 minutes, turning them over in the water until they’ve puffed up and a skin has formed.
8. Remove with a fish slice or a slotted spoon and drain away any excess water.
9. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment and add any toppings you’d like to use.
10. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. The bases should sound hollow when tapped.
11. Leave to cool on a wire rack and serve with the salmon, lemon and cream cheese.