Lemon Cupcakes

Cupcakes are probably the most exquisite dessert. There are thousands of ways of decorating them. A tall frosting and small sugar details can make it a really impressive dessert. I wish I was a professional in this but when you look at these lemon cupcakes it doesn't seem to be true. In fact, I haven't had much practise in decorating cupcakes. I used to bake muffins with large cracks on tops mostly so I hope this attempt for a beginner could be excusable.

Speaking about their taste, I think the appearance becomes less important.

I've been using this cupcake recipe for many years and I never thought of looking for another one. The cupcakes are perfectly moist and fluffy, with a right amount of sugar and lemon. For the frosting I made a simple lemon buttercream. This is the easiest method I know and you can never go wrong with it. It's foolproof because you can always add more milk if you see that the frosting is too stiff or add more powdered sugar if it's too runny. But! One very important condition - the butter must be at room temperature. Otherwise you'll not get a smooth frosting.

My next baking experiment is tiramisu cupcakes. There will be a frosting too so I hope I'll do better next time. It's all about practise!

Cupcakes

110g unsalted butter (room temperature)

190g/1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

120ml/1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lemon

225g/1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1) Preheat oven to 175C.  Line 12 cupcake tins with cupcake liners.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice.

3) With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  With a mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk mixture.

4) Divide evenly among muffin cups.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack. 

Frosting:*
110g butter, softened
4 tbsp lemon juice
5-6 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
375-400g powdered sugar

1) In a medium bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add a pinch of salt. Start adding powdered sugar. When you mix in about 375g of sugar, add 4 tablespoons of lemon juice and 5 tablespoons of milk. Depending on the consistency you wish to achieve, add more/less powdered sugar/milk. Finally, add the vanilla extract. 

2) Pipe the frosting onto cupcakes.

*The recipe makes more than enough frosting for 12 cupcakes. If you don't like a tall frosting, reduce the ingredients by half or if you like me prefer insanely tall frosting, go ahead and make it all. There's never too much frosting.