These cakes are for serious lemon lovers... they have the amazing combination of tart, sweet, creamy, textures, everything. They are... just... wow. so SO good!
The curd is so deliciously lemony and creamy, the cake is soft, light, also lemony, and the frosting (which contains some of the lemon curd, as well as cream cheese and whipped cream) brings it all together to a lovely, lemony delight!
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| Poor little cupcake, sitting on a plate, it was eaten only a few moments after this was taken |
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| Minion when she was a teensy kitten, going nuts on the cupcake. so adorable! she then proceeded to fall asleep face down on a friend's lap. it was to die for cute! <3 Photo courtesy of Andrew De Giovanni |
Quick note regarding lemons. ALWAYS use home grown or organic lemons when using them for zest. The lovely perfect ones you find at supermarkets are actually waxed to be that shiny and pretty, so for juicing they "might" be fine, but the zest on those are a big fat no-no. We're lucky enough to be in the middle of a lemon glut thanks to the great Mediterranean weather at the moment, so there were no worries about this!
The original recipe asks for lemon essence to be used in the cake mix, but i simply added a little bit of extra zest, and the juice of one small lemon, and it was fine!
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| ready to serve.. |
Lemon Curd Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Lemon Curd:
2 lemons
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup white sugar
4 Tablespoon butter, cold (unsalted, but i used salted and it worked out fine so whatever floats your boat!) (around 80 grams)
This can be made the day before you need it, which I would recommend. Zest the lemons. Juice the lemons. In a saucepan mix together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Place over medium heat, bring to a simmer. Continue cooking, stirring constantly until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the butter 1 Tablespoon at a time until melted. Cover lemon curd with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled and thickened.
** I used most, but not all of the curd in the recipe, even though i filled the cupcakes quite well. I am thinking that next time I make this, I'll double the recipe to have even more curd leftover, it was fantastic!
Cupcakes:
3 cups cake flour (type "00")
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened (225 grams, almost a whole pack in Europe/Australia)
2 cups sugar (I used Golden Castor)
4 eggs, separated
1 cup milk (i used low fat)
1 teaspoon vanilla (i used bean paste)
Juice of one small lemon (original recipe asked for a teaspoon of lemon extract)
zest of two lemons
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Mix together flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl, set aside.
In large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
Alternately add in flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in vanilla, lemon, and lemon zest.
Mix together flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl, set aside.
In large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
Alternately add in flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in vanilla, lemon, and lemon zest.
Place into cupcake liners, smooth over a little.
Bake about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and tops are just golden. Cool.
Use half of lemon curd recipe to fill the cupcakes either with a squeeze bottle or by cutting a small hole in the middle of the cupcake and filling with lemon curd. I used a piping tool :)
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting - PLEASE NOTE! I halved the recipe below and manage to frost the cupcakes quite generously.
Bake about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and tops are just golden. Cool.
Use half of lemon curd recipe to fill the cupcakes either with a squeeze bottle or by cutting a small hole in the middle of the cupcake and filling with lemon curd. I used a piping tool :)
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| Lemony curdy goodness...this is seriously the best cupcake ever. |
Just to reiterate, the below is the original amounts. I halved the recipe as I realised I only had 200g of cream cheese, I used slightly more than 1/4 of the lemon curd though, and there was leftover curd after i filled them and made the frosting. Chef's privilege dictated that I have it on toast the next day. that was a good idea!
500 g cream cheese, softened
1 cup icing sugar
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
Half of the above lemon curd recipe above
In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff. In another bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Add in lemon curd. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Frost cupcakes generously and serve. Keep uneaten cupcakes in the fridge.
Enjoy!... oh my, really, enjoy. seriously i can't even quite believe how awesome these are!! Thanks again, http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com!!!! :D
aaaai wrote a comment and it vanished. Basically I said that everytime i comment on your posts it is to say how delicious that particular food was so i am not going to break tradition for this one. These cupcakes were spectacular AND i got to lick the bowl also :-)))
ReplyDeletei found your reciepe thanks to google... these cupcakes are the best!!!! so yummy!!! i have had heaps ask for the reciepe.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anita! I cannot take credit for the recipe, just for sharing it - but thanks so much! :) That lemon curd is so addictive that I sometimes make a jar of it just to have some on toast/scones! :) yum!
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