Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezey

I've been busy, lately. Like...mega-busy. I feel like September disappeared almost as fast as it began. For this reason, I am going to try and play "catch-up" with my blog. I do have some exciting news, though. I officially launched my cupcake business the first week of September. I am officially a home-based vendor, and my business is called 'Sweet Little Affair.' Cute, huh? I thought so. Basically, I'll be baking cupcakes and selling from my home. I am hoping to drum up some business during the holidays, so you'll probably see quite a few Fall & Winter themed cupcakes within the next few weeks, in preparation of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This cupcake came together really quickly, and it really wasn't planned. My friend had mentioned she wanted a lemon cupcake, so I picked up a bag of lemons and head home, hoping I could throw something together. This cupcake was very dense, but delicious. The lemon flavor came through the cake wonderfully, and the frosting did a great job of highlighting it as well. The recipe only made a dozen cupcakes, but the frosting could have possibly frosted 2 dozen, if you decide to double it.

Lemon Cream Cupcakes
inspired by The Baker Chick

For the Cupcake:
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese
2 Tbsp lemon zest (about 2 small medium lemons)
2/3 c sugar
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

For the frosting:
5 oz pkg cream cheese
2 c confectioners' sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp lemon

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees, and prepare your cupcake pans, by lining them with cupcake papers.
In your mixer bowl, cream together the cream cheese, lemon zest, and sugar. Beat for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth, then add eggs, one at a time. Combine flour, baking powder, and sugar in a separate bowl. Reduce mixer speed to low, and slowly add flour mixture. Mix for about minute, or until  just combined.

Scoop batter into cupcake pan, and bake at 325 for 20 minutes, or until tops are firm. Make sure you touch the tops, as these cupcakes are very pale, and they really won't brown on top, like others do.
Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then cool on wire rack.

While cupcakes cool, prepare your frosting. Combine cream cheese, zest, juice, and vanilla in mixer bowl. Beat until creamy, then add confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth. You can add more sugar, if frosting is too soft, or more juice if too stiff.

Pipe, or spread on completely cooled cupcakes, then ENJOY!

Lemon and Raaaazz-berry Beret....

I have a confession. I don't love raspberries. I barely like them. I'm not a super huge fan of the taste, and I am FAR from a fan of the seediness. (Is that a word, 'seediness'? I'm sure you catch my drift) So why would I make a raspberry cupcake, you ask? Well, it's a lemon cupcake and I *heart* lemon anything. Plus, I like raspberry filling in donuts. Maybe it would be like a raspberry filled lemon donut...? 

The result was surprisingly delicious. The homemade raspberry curd concerned me, initially, because it was pretty tart, but when it was combined with the sweetness of the lemon cupcake and the frosting, everything evened out. How awesome was it to see the shock an awe on the faces of my coworkers when they bit into it, just to find a raspberry treat inside?!? These were great - a real hit for both raspberry loves, and non-lovers. I think these would make perfect wedding or baby shower treats due to their sweetness and semi-fanciness! 

Raspberry filled Lemon Cupcakes

Inspired by Smells Like Home

For the raspberry curd:

8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 pint fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried

5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 c granulated sugar

pinch of salt

For the Cupcakes:

2 1/3 c cake flour

2 3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

5 large egg whites, room temperature

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 1/2 c granulated sugar

5 Tbsp lemon zest

12 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 c whole milk

For the Lemon Buttercream

1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 c shortening

2 Tbsp lemon zest

3 c confectioners' sugar

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream

Let's start with the raspberry curd. 

Melt butter in medium saucepan, then add raspberries, egg yolks, sugar, and salt. Cook at medium heat, while mashing berries. Make sure you stir constantly, because you don't want your eggs to scramble! Continue to stir until mixture is nice and thick, about 15 minutes. Set a mesh sieve over a bowl, and pour mixture into it, working it through with a wooden spoon. Once you've extracted as much juice as you can, discard of solids, and set aside to cool. Curd will thicken as it cools, but to help it along you can put it in the fridge until you are ready for it. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare your cupcake tins with cupcake liners. Set aside. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl - set aside. In a clean mixer bowl, whip egg whites at medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and increase mixer speed to high. Whip until stiff peaks form. Transfer meringue to clean bowl and set aside. Rinse out your mixer bowl,  and replace whisk attachment with paddle attachment. Beat butter until smooth, then gradually add sugar. Add lemon zest, then beat mixture until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, starting and ending with flour. Once incorporated, remove bowl from mixer and mix in about 1/4 of the whites with a spatula. Once blended in, fold in the rest of the whites, gently. Continue folding until you see no more white streaks. 

Scoop batter into cupcake lined pan, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until tops bounce back when touched. Remove from oven, cool in pan for 5 minutes, then cool the rest of the way on a rack. 

While cupcakes cool, and curd continues to thicken, make your frosting! In your mixer, beat butter, shortening, and zest until light and fluffy. Begin adding sugar, about 1/2 a cup at a time, and add lemon juice as needed to reach a semi firm consistency. Add whipping cream and whip for about 2 minutes until it's very light and cloud-like. 

To assemble, core out the center of your cupcake with a cupcake corer (or a paring knife - the corer is easier and more fun!) Use a piping back to fill each core. The curd will seem almost too thin to be a filling, but it will continue to thicken within cupcake (I know -- weird!) 

Once cupcakes are filled, pipe frosting on top, garnish with a fresh raspberry, then dig in!!

Lemon Meringue, that makes you Merengue

One of my favorite flavors of pie is Lemon Meringue. I always associate it with my late grandfather, Solomon. His birthday was on January 1st, so every year, on his birthday, the family would get together and my aunt would make a couple of lemon meringue pies because it was his favorite, too. I've made a few lemon meringue pies in the past, but don't necessarily LOVE baking them. They are very time consuming, one dirties lots of dishes, and if not timed out perfectly, something will go wrong. With a house full of kids, I can't always dedicate 100% of my attention on something in the kitchen because the next thing I know, someone is fighting or crying over something and I have to go break it up! Anyway, this past weekend my family got together for a Father's Day thing and my aunt brought a lemon meringue pie! Talk about flash back. Since there was only 1 pie and lots of people, I didn't have an entire piece, I just swiped a few bites from my Abuela's plate. Needless to say, it was delicious, and it inspired this week's cupcake. This one's for you, Buelo!!

Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcake
Inspired by BH&G 150 Cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
4 eggs yolks
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c milk
1/4 c purchased lemon curd
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
For the garnish/meringue:
4 egg whites
3-4 Tbsp purchased lemon curd
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2/3 c granulated sugar
powdered sugar
Separate eggs. Let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Prep your cupcake pans with liners. You'll get about 15 out of this recipe. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl combine milk and 1/4 c lemon curd. Whisk until almost smooth. (You'll still have a few lumps of curd in there!)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, beat butter for about 30 seconds, then add granulated sugar. Beat for about 1 minute at med-high speed, then reduce to medium and add yolks and vanilla. Beat to combine, then scrape down your bowl. Alternately add your flour mixture and your milk mixtures, starting & finishing with the flour. Beat at low until just combined. Remove from mixer and mix through a couple of times with spatula.
Scoop batter into prepared cupcake tray, filling about 2/3 full. Batter is pretty thick, so use an offset spatula to smooth out tops. Pop into oven and bake 15-17 minutes until just beginning to turn golden, and they spring back when you touch the tops.
While those bake, scoop about 3-4 Tbsp lemon curd into a pastry bag, snip the tip, and set aside. Wash out your mixer bowl REALLY well, then whip egg whites and cream of tartar together at medium speed, until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high, and gradually add granulated sugar, about 1 Tbsp at a time. Whip until stiff peaks form. You can put meringue into a parchment bag, or you can just dollop onto cupcake, your choice!
When cupcakes come out of oven, place them on a cooling rack, then pipe a small pile of curd onto each cupcake. I stuck the tip of the bag into the cupcake to get a little bit inside the cake. Once you do that, either dollop your meringue on top, or pipe it on top of the curd pile. Place the cupcakes back into the oven and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until meringue begins to brown on top. Remove from oven, an cool on rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and allow to cool for another 35-40 minutes. You can enjoy these now, or pop them into the fridge and chill until serving!

Lemony Snack-it, A seriously fortunate event!

Previously mentioned, my husband received quite a few requests/recipe suggestions from his coworkers. One request that I'd gotten a few times was if I could make a diabetic-friendly cupcake. After all, individuals with diabetes love cupcakes, too...they normally just can't eat them.

Diabetes is a disease that is all too familiar in my family, as many of my great aunts & uncles have it. This past Thanksgiving I was asked to prepare a birthday cake for one of my uncles. It would be easy to just throw my usual birthday cake together, but my uncle has diabetes. I took it upon myself to see what I could put together for him that would be diabetes friendly. It's no fun to get a birthday cake that you can't eat. I came upon this recipe online and thought it looked delicious. The cake was super yum, so when a request for diabetic-friendly cupcakes came out, I flashed back to this cake. With a few minor tweaks, this turned out to be a big hit with diabetic & non-diabetic tasters. Fear not, even cupcakes with low sugar can be yummy!!

Lemon Velvet Cake
From Cooksrecipes.com

For the cake:
2 1/2 c cake flour
1 c SPLENDA Sugar Blend for Baking
2 1/2 tsp bakign powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 c milk
1/4 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp lemon zest

For the lemon filling:
2/3 c SPLENDA Sugar Blend for Baking
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 c water
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp lemon zest
1/4 c fresh lemon juice

For the frosting:
1 1/4 c whipping cream
2 tbsp SPLENDA Sugar Blend for Baking
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp lemon extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prep your cupcake pans.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, SPLENDA, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter, until mixture is crumbly. If you don't have a pastry cutter, you can use a mixer at the lowest speed. Just be careful not to over mix...you just want crumbles.

Combine milk, eggs, lemon extract, and lemon zest in a medium sized bowl. Turn your mixer on, and add 1/3 of lemon mixture to your flour. Beat until smooth. Scrape down your bowl, then add another 1/3 of your lemon mixture to the mixer bowl. Beat for 30 seconds, then add the remaining lemon mixture to your mixer bowl.

Scoop batter into prepared cupcake pans and bake for 17 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Looks can be deceiving with this cupcake. When you take a peak into your oven, the cupcakes will look raw. They are a very pale color. Don't be fooled....check them. They are probably done, just pale. Remove them to a wire rack and cool in pan for about 10 min. Pop them out of pan, and cool completely.

While these cool, prepare your lemon filling.

Lightly whisk your egg yolks in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. Prep your lemon zest, lemon juice,and butter, then set aside. Combine your SPLENDA, cornstarch, and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, making sure to whisk constantly. When mixture begins to thicken up, add about 1/4 of it to your egg yolks, whisking like crazy to prevent your yolks from cooking. Once tempered, add yolk mixture to saucepan and whisk constantly. Bring to a boil, then allow to boil for 1 min, never ceasing to whisk. Remove from heat and stir in your zest, juice, and butter. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface of custard and set aside to cool. By placing the plastic on the surface of the custard, you will prevent a yucky film from developing on surface.

If your cupcakes are cool, grab your nifty cupcake corer. I got mine a couple of years ago from Sur La Table and it is WONDERFUL. It's a handy little tool that isn't too expensive, and it ensures you have plenty of filling in your cupcakes.

Core your cupcakes. When your custard has cooled, fill with desired amount of filling. It's delicious, so don't be skimpy! Once your cupcakes are filled, prep your frosting.

In a mixer bowl, using your whisk attachment, whip whipping cream until foamy. Slowly add SPLENDA, followed by zest and extract. Beat until medium peaks form. You don't want them too soft, or frosting will not be pipe-able, but you don't want them too stiff, either. A medium peak will do.

Pipe your cupcakes, then garnish with a lemon slice, if you'd like.

Enjoy!!