Sunday, January 10, 2010

Lemony Heavenly Cupcakes

These cupcakes turned out beautiful! It took a bit of work but the outcome was well worth it. Lots of love and mixing went into the cake batter, which turned into creamy goodness after about a thousands turns... J/k :0) As you can see, Mattie loved the taste of the lemons.

There is something heavily about the lemon, simply add a bit of sweetness to it's tartness and you have your self the most amazing flavor. It's used in so many way's and alway's ends up being a fabulous meal or dessert.


I wish I could go to my parents back yard in California and pull all the lemons I needed to make these cupcakes. They have lemon and Orange trees, and many berries to choose from and not to mention a small vineyard my dad built for my mom. The flowers my mother tends too is simply beautiful, pretty much year round. One of my favorite things to do is to sit in the backyard with my parents, playing backgammon drinking gin and tonics. Now thats the making of a good memory.

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Ok enough of this chatter, lets get down to business.


Since it calls for 3 sticks of butter and 5 eggs in the cake alone, I dont make them very often ...these are perfectly portioned snippets of lemony goodness and so rich that you may only need too eat one, Maybe!!! :)


Lemony Heavenly Cupcakes

1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) of REAL butter
3 c. cake flour (no substitutions here--you really need the lightness of cake flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. sugar
5 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice Zest of 2 lemons (just zest the other lemons before you squeeze them)
1 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners (I used white)

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Don't go skimping here--you want the mixture to be almost white and super fluffy. This is absolutely essential to the outcome of the cake.
While butter and sugar are mixing, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. After butter and sugar have mixed sufficiently, With the mixer running, add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Beat in vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

With mixer on low speed, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating until fully incorporated.

Using a standard cookie scoop, place about 2 scoops of batter into each muffin cup. Fill these almost to the top--due to the final texture (again, think super-moist and light pound cake), these cupcakes won't have a nice, curvy crown, but that's okay--no one will ever know or care.

Bake about 20-25 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. You don't want to
over bake these even a bit, or they'll start to lose their delicious moisture. Remove from oven and cool completely. Frost with lemon buttercream.


This frosting takes a bit of work, but you will enjoy the out come....sometimes it takes patience achieve amazing results. This is one of those times. Patience is truly a virtue.


Lemon Buttercream Frosting

7 egg whites
Pinch cream of tartar
2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
½ c. water
1 lb. unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tsp. lemon extract
Yellow food coloring (optional)

Requires candy thermometer

  • Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed.
  • Add sugar, corn syrup, and water to a pot and swirl or mix with a spoon so that the sugar has the consistency of wet sand and all of the granules are moistened.
  • Cook the sugar on high to 235F. At this stage, which candymakers call the soft ball stage, most of the moisture gets cooked out of the sugar.
  • Immediately add the cooked sugar to the egg whites, which should be foamy at this point.
  • Turn the mixer speed to high and whip the meringue to a medium peak.
  • Add the butter in small clumps (about 1½” cubes) and whip until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, and holds together.
  • Add the lemon extract and food coloring if using and whip to combine.
  • Dress up your cupcakes real pretty with this creamy buttery frosting.
The Finished Product!!!!


Find your self a pretty plate, make yourself a cup of tea and relax in your favorite chair.....enjoy a bit of Spring on this wintry day.

Enjoy!

Jeneeb.



1 comment:

  1. Yummy!!! These look delicious! And I love cakes made with cake flour...so soft and delicious! - mary

    ReplyDelete