Lemon Cream Cupcakes

When I was in college my mom threw a tea party for a few years, usually around Valentine's Day. Because I was miles away, I had to miss them. Even though I don't like tea, I was a bit bummed about missing them. So when my mom decided to throw one this year, I decided I had to go. I even offered to bake (though I have a feeling she would have asked me to anyway). I decided on something not chocolate since the party was going to be during Lent and as always, I gave up chocolate. My mom asked me to make something lemony so we'd have a variety of flavors. I set my sights on looking for lemon cupcakes as I was in the mood to make them and I wanted to use one of the skills that Mom and I had learned at a Wilton decorating class we took last summer. I ended up finding the same recipe in two places: Taste of Home's Cupcakes special edition magazine from a couple years ago and my 2012 cupcakes calendar.

Lemon Cream Cupcakes (pg 42 in Taste of Home special edition: Cupcakes 2013)

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 cup butter, softened
  
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsps grated lemon peel (I used lemon extract - same measurement)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups (16 oz) sour cream

Frosting

• 3 tbsps butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar (at least)
• 2 tbsps lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp grated lemon peel
• 1 to 2 tbsps milk

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon peel and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (I just did the dry ingredients first then the sour cream), beating well after each addition (batter will be thick).
2. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
3. For frosting, cream butter and powdered sugar in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Add the lemon juice, vanilla, lemon peel, and milk; beat until smooth. Frost cupcakes. (to frost I used Wilton's 1M tip and made rosettes. Not recommended unless you double the frosting.)

They were a hit! Everyone loved them (I can't remember what was specifically said though; it's been a few days). When I was baking, I especially liked how thick the batter was; it made scooping the batter into the cupcake liners much easier. I probably should've added a bit more powdered sugar to the frosting to make it thicker and easier to frost the cupcakes with. Next time (and there will be a next time for the frosting).

Time-saver and just as effective as using a real lemon