Saturday, July 3, 2010

Lemon Cupcakes with Buttercream and Fresh Raspberries


I baked lemon cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and topped them with fresh raspberries and blueberries, the perfect red white and blue! I made them for a Fourth of July celebration and they were a HUGE hit! Everyone loved them and they all got eaten. I love their lemony flavor and the cake is moist with a golden top. Raspberries are the perfect addition because they look cute and taste delicious with lemon cake. I used a simple vanilla buttercream that is nice and stiff so it's great for piping, but easy and quick to make. Everyone had one (or more) because they are simply too good to resist! I even tried baking in raspberries in two of them so that made for a fun (and yummy) surprise for the lucky ones who picked them!

The Lemon Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temp.
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line standard muffin tins with papers
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. With an electric mixer cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in zest and vanilla.
4. Add flour mixture in 3 batches alternating with lemon juice and buttermilk until each is combined.
5. Divide batter evenly among cups.
6. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a tester comes out clean when inserted. About 25 minutes.
7. Cool cupcakes on wire rack and decorate them however you like!
Recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes by Martha Stewart.- This book is a must for any lover of cupcake baking!

Vanilla Buttercream Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons milk
Directions:
1. Cream butter and shortening with an electric hand mixer (or bowl with whisk attachment) and add vanilla.
2. Gradually add sugar one cup at a time while beating.
3. Add milk and beat until light and fluffy on medium speed.
4. Cover with a damp paper towel until used. Buttercream can be saved in a freezer for up to two weeks.
www.wiltons.com is a great website for frosting recipes!

1 comment:

  1. My mom loves lemon cupcakes, so maybe I'll surprise her with these :)

    ReplyDelete