lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting
Author: 
Recipe type: dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 24
 
Ingredients
  • 2¼ cups cake flour (try to find unbleached if you can)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1¼ cups buttermilk (Make your own! See asterisk below in Notes section.)*
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • lemon zest from two lemons
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe in Notes section)
Instructions
  1. Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with cupcake liners.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and eggs in a medium bowl.
  3. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and mix briefly to moisten sugar. Using an electric mixer, add the butter and beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
  4. Beat in the vanilla, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.**
  8. Cool completely on wire rack before frosting. I frosted the night before the party and kept the cupcakes at a cool cellar temperature. Makes 24 cupcakes.
Notes
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting 1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened 1 pound (453 g) confectioners’ sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract juice of one small lemon (about 30 ml / 1 ounce / ⅛ cup) sprinkling sugar (I used pink, per request) 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. This is enough frosting for 24 frosting-heavy cupcakes or many more lightly frosted cupcakes (like mine). * Making buttermilk: Put 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into a measuring cup. Add in enough whole milk to make a cup. (If you need more, as you do in this recipe, calculate it out.) I used a scant teaspoon vinegar for ¼ cup milk. Allow to sit at room temperature to curdle/thicken slightly. ** Don't bake too many tins at once, or you will have cupcake centers that fall. If you like extra frosting, this is an excellent concave surface on which to pipe more. However, if you are looking for a hilly cupcake, just a little mound of delicate cake, then bake no more than 12 at a time. Or, try pre-heating the oven to 375 degrees F, putting in the cupcakes, and immediately turning down the heat to 350. (A tip from my mom. Let me know how it works.)
Recipe by story of a kitchen at https://www.storyofakitchen.com/miscellaneous-recipes/lemon-cupcakes/