Little babies are one of the most precious things in life. I know that’s a cliché statement, but when you’ve wanted to have a child for a very long time and that dream finally comes true, that statement is far from cliché.
My friend just adopted the sweetest little baby boy 7 weeks ago and I couldn’t be happier for her and her family. This baby really was a miracle from God. Yesterday we had a shower to honor her and this little boy. I was asked to bring a dessert, specifically these lemon poppyseed cupcakes. I was so honored to be a part of her baby shower, and was secretly glad she asked me to make a dessert, because these are one of my very favorite.
What I love about these cupcakes is that there is a hint of lemon in the cupcake batter, as well as the frosting. (Too much lemon is overpowering. Subtle is key when it comes to lemons.) And while it is a butter frosting, when it is whipped properly, it is light and airy, not heavy and thick. You literally could eat two and not get a stomach-ache. (Ask my husband, he ate two last night and almost went for thirds, had I not stopped him.) If you don’t really like poppyseeds, you could omit it and it would still taste delicious. I love to garnish cupcakes, so for this occasion I tinted the frosting blue and added white and blue sprinkles, but many times I just add fresh lemon zest. Enjoy! xoxo
P.S. I realized that I posted two lemon recipes in a row. Maybe it’s some subconscious thing about willing summer to get here already, but I promise the next one will have chocolate or something of the like in it. I know not everyone loves lemon like I do. Maybe I need some help…
Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes
1 ½ t baking powder
1 c cake flour
½ cup flour
1 cup sugar
¼ t salt
½ c (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
2 eggs
½ c 2% or whole milk
½ t pure vanilla extract
2 t lemon extract
1 t poppyseeds
Pre-heat oven to 350, and line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, pour dry ingredients into the bowl and mix on low for 2-3 minutes, until well combined. Add the cubed softened butter, and mix on low speed until the butter is well-coated and pieces are small and crumb-like, about 20-30 seconds.
Add eggs, one at a time, until combined. (The egg yolk is dissolved.) Slowly add the milk and vanilla—scrape down bowl to get all ingredients combined. Fill cupcake liners (in tins) about 2/3 full, and bake 17-20 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
Take cupcakes out of muffin tin and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool before frosting.
Lemon Buttercream
enough to frost 12 cupcakes
¾ c (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
½ t pure vanilla extract
1 t lemon extract
1M piping tip
piping bag
lemon zest and/or sugar pearls
Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add sugar, ½ cup at a time, beating for 2 minutes after each addition. Add vanilla and beat until buttercream is smooth and pale.
Place frosting in piping bag. Cut off the end of the piping bag. Going from the middle of the cupcake to the edge, pipe frosting in a circle.
Sprinkle with lemon zest and or sugar pearls. Store any leftovers in an air-tight container up to 3 days.
1 Comment
Yummy!