lemon cupcake with cream cheese frosting

i stole this recipe from this amazing website called my baking addiction. i only made it cause my mum likes lemony things and so does phillie. my verdict? it was a amazing, only thing is i might have put too much zest or the recipe required too much of it cause it has a slightly bitter after taste. also, instead of pure lemon extract, i added lemon juice which turned out not too much of a problem.

i thoroughly enjoyed the frosting process, i only added 1 cup from the required 2lbs of confectionary sugar but it still had soft peaks and at the same time was sweet enough and full of flavour. you have to understand, no buttercream in singapore ever gets to that point of staying in shape unless loads of icing sugar is added, in which point it will be so sweet, you might have to chop your legs off after consuming 2 cupcakes. so this was exciting for me. have fun trying this recipe. her website is amazing too by the way. http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/

makes 24 cupcakes

For the Cake 2 1/4 cups cake flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups buttermilk 4 large egg whites 1 1/2 cups sugar lemon zest from two lemons 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cupcake tins by using liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

To Make The Cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extracts, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Place the batter into the cupcake tins.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting: 2 (8) ounce package cream cheese, softened 1 stick butter, softened 2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract juice of one lemon

Using a mixer, blend the butter and cream cheese together until well combined. Gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar until fully incorporated. Finally mix in vanilla and lemon juice.