My company had an event where employees were asked to cook or bake something to bring that represented their culture or background. I decided that I would bake a dessert because, well…that’s what I do!
It’s been at or above 100 degrees F every day for the past 2 or 3 weeks here in North Texas, so I decided that I needed to bring a dessert that’s light and refreshing. Everyone loves cupcakes and it’s easy to make a lot of them for many people. Lemon’s are a citrusy, tropical fruit that always seem refreshing on a hot summer day. So, with that I decided to bring lemon cupcakes!
This is a from-scratch recipe that turned out deliciously moist and light. It pairs perfectly with cream cheese buttercream frosting! Although this recipe is fairly easy, make sure you have a solid hour to devote to prepping and baking these. They will also need to cool several hours before frosting.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 heaping tablespoon lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line cupcake pan with liners.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
- With mixer on low, add in the buttermilk, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix until combined. The batter will be a little thick.
- Scoop batter into cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 full.
- Bake about 18 minutes or until toothpick insert into the middle comes out clean.
Note:
This can also be made into a 9-inch three-layer cake. Simply prepare three 9-inch round cake pans. Add cake batter and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until done. Completely cool before frosting.
This recipe made 36 regular sized cupcakes and 24 mini-cupcakes. I sliced up a couple lemons and quartered the slices as a garnish for the top of each cupcake. The cupcakes went within the first 15 minutes of my work event, so they were a big hit!
I hope you enjoy!
Have a sweet day! ~ JEN
