Triple Lemon Cupcakes

Lemon love. Love lemon? Then these cupcakes are for you. You should also probably have a pretty strong sweet tooth as they are very intensely sweet.  I love lemon and I like my sweet treats tart, so I thought the lemon curd filling would cut the sugary sweetness and punch it with some sour goodness, but it just kinda made the whole thing over-the-top sweet. I made these for a girl’s night where four of us got together to celebrate our summer birthdays over some bubbly and some lemon lusciousness (seriously–we had lemon chicken sate, lemonade to splash in the bubbly, lemon tschotkes and lemon clothes–it was insanely awesome).

Anyway, these cupcakes were my lemon contribution.  Magnolia’s vanilla cupcakes* with a little added lemon zest, lemon buttercream and a lemon curd filling=triple lemon cupcake love.  Here’s how I did it:

INGREDIENTS

CAKE
~ 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
~ 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
~ 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
~ 2 cups sugar
~ 4 large eggs, at room temperature
~ 1 cup milk
~ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
~ 2 tablespoons lemon zest

*Recipe adapted from Magonlia Bakery’s Vanilla Cupcake. Which I have to say is amazing! Seriously, this will forever be my go-to white cake recipe. It’s so freaking good and easy, definitely use the double flour instead of  leveners as it makes it fool proof.

FILLING
~ 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
~ 2 large eggs, plus one large yolk
~ 1/2 cup sugar
~ 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut in cubes
~ 1 tablespoon heavy cream
~ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
~ 1/8 teaspoon salt

FROSTING
~ 8 ounces (1  brick) of cream cheese, softened
~ 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
~ Zest of one lemon
~ 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
~ 2-4 cups confectioner’s sugar
~ Pinch of salt

Makes 24-34 cupcakes

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.   Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.  In a small bowl, combine the flours and the lemon zest. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before coring and  icing.

While the cupcakes bake, make the curd. This step can be done up to one day in advance. Heat the lemon juice in a non-reactive pan on medium heat until hot, but not boiling. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and slowly whisk in the sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in half of the hot lemon juice into the egg mixture, then return the egg/lemon juice mixture to the saucepan and continue cooking and stirring until mixture reaches 170 degrees or it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, add the butter and stir until incorporated. Stir in the cream, vanilla, and salt then pour through a strainer into a small, glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Now make the frosting. Whip the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes.  Next add the butter and continue to bear until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the vanilla, salt and lemon zest and continue to beat on medium speed. Slowly add up to one cup of the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time. [A fantastic trick Smitten Kitchen learned from Martha Stewart test kitchen chefs is to add the sugar slowly, quick buttercream frostings got less grainy, and tended to require less sugar to thicken them up.]

Add the lemon juice to taste — more or less depending on your desired level of lemon flavor. If this has made the frosting too thin beat in remaining sugar, up to four cups total.

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, use a small paring knife or grapefruit spoon to core the center taking care to not cut all the way to the bottom. You want a space for about a tablespoon of curd. After you’ve cored the cupcakes and the curd has cooled, fill a pastry bag (or Ziplock baggie with the corner cut off) with the curd and fill each cupcake to the top.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes. I used a pastry bag with a large star tip and  swirled for a bakery look. I then topped each one with a sprinkle of edible yellow glitter.

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