Recipe of the Week!

Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

These were delicious. I found the recipe that I used on My Baking Addiction. Matt said he wanted a lemon cake for his birthday, but I couldn't find a recipe I liked so I asked if cupcakes would be OK. Then mid-cupcake making I actually used my full brain and figured out that I could have made this recipe into a cake...duh. Oh well this worked out and we had little desserts for a week. I had raspberries on hand for another recipe I made that weekend so I used those as some extra flair and flavor along with some sugary sprinkles instead of what her recipe calls for. Next I will turn this recipe into a cake...even though I vowed to never bake a cake again.

*Just another note. I found this made A LOT of icing. I still have quite a bit left over in my freezer, and the cake batter made 24 small cupcakes. Next time I would probably make slightly bigger cupcakes and cut the icing recipe in half. 

For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

4 large egg whites

1 1/2 cups sugar

lemon zest from two lemons

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cupcake tins by using liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray

To Make The Cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extracts, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Place the batter into the cupcake tins.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 (8) ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

juice of one lemon

Using a mixer, blend the butter and cream cheese together until well combined. Gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar until fully incorporated. Finally mix in vanilla and lemon juice.