Muffins with lemon curd and buttercream

Such wonderful muffins can easily replace a birthday cake and decorate any holiday.

Ingredients

• Butter (room temperature) - 125 g
• Sugar - 125 g
• Lemon zest (chopped) - 1 tbsp l.
• Eggs (room temperature) - 2 pcs.
• Wheat flour - 125 g
• Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
• Milk - 3 tbsp. l.
• Mascarpone cheese (chilled) - 250 g
• Powdered sugar - 100 g
• Whipping cream - 150 g
• For the lemon curd:
• Juice and zest of 4 lemons
• Butter unsalted (cut into cubes) - 100 g
• White sugar - 350 g
• Eggs - 4 pcs.

Directions

1. Prepare lemon curd. In a metal bowl, mix lemon juice, zest, oil, sugar and eggs. Put the bowl in a water bath and stir until the sugar dissolves in the oil and until it thickens slightly. Strain the mass, remove the cake, and put the curd in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper baskets or grease with butter.
3. In a bowl, beat butter, sugar and lemon zest with a mixer until fluffy.
4. Add eggs and beat for another 2 minutes.
5. In a deep bowl mix flour and baking powder. Pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture, mix well. Add milk to this mixture and mix well again.
6. Using a spoon or ice cream maker, spoon the same amount of batter into each prepared mold. Put in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
7. Remove the muffins from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
8. Meanwhile, prepare the cream for the top of the muffins. To do this, beat the mascarpone and sugar powder with a mixer until fluffy. In another bowl, whip the cream until fluffy and add it to the mascarpone. Beat well at low speed. Cover bowl with cream and refrigerate to chill.
9. Use an apple corer to make an indentation in each muffin (remove the middle). Fill each muffin with lemon curd and close with the cut out center.
10. Transfer the whipped cream to a kitchen bag or syringe and apply to the muffins, hiding the peeking center.
11. Decorate as desired.