Beautiful lemon spiked muffins bursting with plump, juicy, red seasonal cherries are just perfect for that Christmas morning pick-me-up with your cup of coffee as you smile all bleary-eyed at being woken up way too early by excited squeals under the Christmas tree. This muffin is adapted from leila Lindholm's gorgeous baking tome - A Piece Of Cake.
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Line 10 holes of a standard size muffin tin with paper cases.
Place eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla, butter, milk and lemon gently with a wooden spoon.
Add flour, baking powder and salt to the wet mix. Fold in gently with a spoon until just combined.
Spoon batter into the paper cases until each is two thirds full. Push two cherries down the middle of each paper case.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes until well-risen, cooked through and turning golden on top.
Remove from the oven and transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, dust with icing sugar and enjoy.