Decadent Lemon Cupcakes

I have been and always will be a cupcake girl.  I love any flavor, frosted or plain, filled with ganache or just dusted with icing sugar.  It all works for me.  Is chocolate at the top of my list? Second. The top is lemon. Nothing quite beats the taste of a fresh, citrus dessert where I am concerned. I love pies, puddings, cookies and squares but most of all I love sweet cupcakes infused with the gorgeous flavors of lemon.

And this cupcake does it for me:  moist, cakey, sweet and gently scented with the zest of a lemon.  The frosting is smooth, creamy and , you guessed it,  lemony.  Pair this with a cup of tea and all your worries will melt away.  Perfection.

This little gem of a recipe is a result of a search on BBC Good Food.  I have an undying passion for British sweets and had started out my web search for something traditional to the UK (think Parkin, Chelsea Buns, Bakewell Tarts...) but when I saw the photo for these golden goodies I was hooked.

The original recipe called for poppyseeds which omitted.  I would rather not sit around watching my daughter try to pick out each individual seed. I did make a few more changes to the batter ingredients too as I went along and it all turned out great.

The recipe also called for the addition of lemon juice to the frosting.  I went with lemon extract instead.  It gave the level of flavor I wanted without adding too much liquid to the frosting. For added creaminess, a bit of whipping cream was added.  Perfect flavor and consistency.

Let's get baking!

RECIPE:
*adapted source recipe:  Lemon and Poppyseed Cupcakes, BBC Good Food


WHAT YOU NEED

CUPCAKES
225g self-raising cake and pastry flour
85g golden brown sugar
85g fine granulated sugar
zest 2 lemons
3 eggs
100g plain, full fat sour cream
2 tablespoons whipping cream
175g butter , melted and cooled slightly

FROSTING
225g butter at room temperature
400g icing sugar , sifted
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 tablespoons whipping cream
10 drops yellow food coloring

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners


MAKE CUPCAKES
IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together flour, sugars and lemon zest
IN SEPARATE BOWL, whisk together remaining cupcake ingredients
ADD wet ingredients to dry ingredients stirring with a wooden spoon until no large lumps remain
DIVIDE batter up amongst muffin cups
BAKE 20 MIN or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
REMOVE from oven and let cool in tin 5 minutes.
TRANSFER muffins to cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting

MAKE FROSTING
IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER, fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter on MED speed for 2-3 minutes
ADD icing sugar, lemon extract and whipping cream
MIX on HIGH SPEED for 2-3 minutes
ADD FOOD COLORING while continuing to mix on HIGH speed
BEAT for another 2-3 minutes

PIPE onto cupcakes and ENJOY !