Light and Dainty Lemon Cupcakes

I love sugar. I will eat sugary things for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack-time. But, let's be real about cupcakes. Sometimes the frosting is too sweet and you can only eat a few bites before feeling it in your teeth.

So when I chose to make lemon cupcakes for a dear friend's Sip & See, I opted for lemon-infused whipped cream for the frosting instead of a buttercream or cream cheese topping.

The result was a light, delicious little cupcake, or described on Allrecipes.com, as "truly lighter than air and will melt in your mouth." It's one that you can eat many of. And I did. (As did my hubs. And my children.).

Lemon Cupcakes (Allrecipes.com )
Makes about 30 mini cupcakes, or about 14 large
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
2 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 cup whole milk, divided
1 1/4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice, divided

Lemon Cream Icing

1 cup chilled heavy cream  

1/2 cup powdered sugar (or half of 3/4 cup to be exact)

3/4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. lemon zest

extra lemon zest for topping 

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

2. Sift the self-rising flour and salt together in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the unsalted butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating each egg until incorporated before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

3. Gently beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture, one third at a time, alternating with half the milk and half the lemon juice after each of the first 2 additions of flour. Beat until just combined; do not over mix.

4. Fill the prepared cupcake liners with batter 3/4 full, and bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 8-9 minutes for mini cupcakes, and 14-17 minutes for big cupcakes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before removing them to finish cooling on a rack.

To make the icing, beat the cream in a chilled bowl with a mixer set on Low until the cream begins to thicken. Add the powdered sugar and lemon juice, a little at a time, beating after each addition, until fully incorporated. Add in the lemon zest. Increase the mixer speed to High, and beat until the icing forms soft peaks, about 5 minutes. Spread on the cooled cupcakes, and top with a light sprinkle of lemon zest. Refrigerate leftovers.