Cupcakes are one of the simplest home bakes you can make, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be fancy and decadent. Baking icon Mary Berry says one “surprise” ingredient can completely transform a simple cupcake by not only giving the cakes a kick of flavour, but making them look “spectacular” as well.

The former Great British Bake Off judge says she has always loved baking for special occasions and so she has crafted a recipe to elevate cupcakes to another level. Rather than a standard vanilla sponge, Mary has added lemon to the mixture along with a sprinkling of freeze dried strawberries, to give the cakes a zesty but sweet flavour. Explaining the recipe in a video on YouTube, Mary says: “My next recipe is a divine idea to transform a simple cupcake. These are lemony cupcakes which I’ve added some freeze-dried strawberries to, so it’s all a bit of a surprise when you get inside.

“This is a nice, easy, all-in-one sponge so two eggs, 100g of baking spread – you could use butter if you prefer, but it’s got to be soft – 150g of caster sugar and the same of self-raising flour.”

By using ingredients at room temperature, it allows them to emulsify and incorporate air more easily, ultimately resulting in a lighter and fluffier cake. #

The creaming of the butter and sugar is what will create the fluffy texture, so make sure you do this thoroughly as it’s crucial for a light tasting cake.

Mary grates in some lemon zest, followed by three tablespoons of milk and 7g of freeze-dried strawberries. She says: “The ingredient that takes these [cupcakes] out of the everyday is freeze-dried strawberries. You get a wonderful flavour of the strawberry and it’s lovely to come across.”

The mixture needs to be whisked together until “pale and creamy” before being distributed evenly in a muffin tin and baking at 160C for around 18-20 minutes.

Mary then makes an “unconventional” topping for the cupcakes in the form of a meringue, using two egg whites and 100g of caster sugar, and adds a “luscious” lemon curd filling to each bun.

For the finishing touch, Mary uses a blowtorch to toast the meringue and sprinkles a dashing of freeze-dried strawberries for extra decoration and flavour.

She adds: “They look really spectacular. I reckon these are a real show-off, perfect for that special tea. That’s wickedly delicious.”