Italian Lemon Cream Cupcakes

Hi!

After spending yesterday attempting to complete as much wedding planing as possible, watching Jurassic Park with my nephew, and grabbing some delicious Chinese food I realized it was much too late to blog. So, here I am at 1022, four hours after I woke up and I have decided to blog about the yummy recipe which Brittany used to make cupcakes yesterday.

As a family we all took my grandmother out for her birthday at this lovely Mexican restaurant. No joke, everyone should take someone to a Mexican restaurant on their birthday (funniest thing ever watching them make her put on a sombrero while singing Happy Birthday).

On to the actual reason for today's blog. Which should actually be called, yummy-deliciousness lemon flavored goodness.

Just as a heads up, these are so similar to Olive Garden's Lemon Cream Cake its scary. 

The ingredients for the cake are:

-5 large eggs (separated at room temp)

-2 cups superfine granulated white sugar

(which was homemade because my local store did not carry it)

-1 stick unsalted butter

-1/2 cup trans-free shortening

-1 tsp sea salt

-zest of 1 medium lemon

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-1 tsp baking soda

-1 cup buttermilk

-2 cups cake flour

(this was also homemade because my grocery store did not have any)

1. Go ahead and preheat your over to 325 degrees. 

2. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and gradually add 1/2 cup of sugar until it thickens and looks like meringue. (Set it aside)

3. Cream the remaining 1 and 1/2 cup of sugar, butter, shortening, salt and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides and add vanilla. Mix and add an egg yolk one at a time.

4. Stir the buttermilk and baking soda together and add 1/3 to the butter mixture. Mix and then add 1 cup of flour and mix again. (Repeat until ending with buttermilk)

5. Fold in egg whites with spatula

6. Bake 30 to 35 minutes

7. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing.

***If you do not have buttermilk substitute heavy cream or 1 cup milk and 1 tsp lemon juice until thick.

Congratulations! You now have cupcakes! But they are not technically done yet.

Oh and just so you are not worried that your cupcakes do not have that cute dome on top? They are not supposed to. It will stay a flat cupcake.

Lemon filling ingredients:

- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

- 2 cups powdered sugar

- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (whipped to stiff peaks)

- 3 tbsp lemon juice

1. Blend the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lemon juice together. In a medium bowl, whip heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold into cream cheese mixture. Chill until needed.

2. Hollow out your cupcakes with a knife or apple corer and put that yummy-ness on the inside.

Now you are even closer to chowing down on some of the yummiest cupcakes you will ever eat.

These will be served at my rehearsal dinner and I am more excited about that than my actual wedding the next day.

Now on to the icing!

Lemon Buttercream ingredients:

 - 6 egg yolks

- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

- 1/2 tsp salt

- zest of one lemon

- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar

- 1 and 1/4 cups  (3 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter - cool

- 1 vanilla bean

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. add egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, lemon zest, and sugar in a double boiler and turn on medium heat. Whisk constantly for 6 minutes until mixture is thickened, light in color and hot.

2. Pour mixture into standing mixer bowl fitted with a whist and whip on high for five minutes (it should be a pale yellow color)

3. Once the mixture has cooled- add butter, 1/4 stick at a time- add vanilla bean and extract and whip again.

And that is all folks. 

You can make your amazing cupcakes from here. 

This recipe is from a Martha Stewart cookbook with a little bit of a change.

 

I hope you enjoy the post and follow us!! Also send us comments and feedback! It would be greatly appreciated!!

-Brittany and Lindsey