Light and airy lemon cupcakes perfect for Spring and summer!
Hi all! Lindsay here! Raise your hand if you like miniature versions of larger things? WE DO, WE DO! That is essentially exactly what a cupcake is. A little, tiny replica of a regular sized cake. Don’t even get us started on mini cupcakes. A mini version of something that is already a mini version of something else? We can’t even handle it.
Typically when I am craving something sweet, I usually prefer something super rich and chocolatey. If it will give me a stomache ache after because of all the sugar, and has the words “double” and “fudge” in the name, then I want it. Give it to me. However, sometimes especially in the warmer months, you want something a little lighter. Sweating to death while eating a 4 layer chocolate cake might make you feel icky.
That is where these cupcakes come in! Lemon is just about the freshest flavor you can get! So we incorporated it into these bad boys.
The frosting is an almond buttercream just to mix things up a bit. If you do not like almond you could always substitute the almond extract for vanilla. Or go right ahead and make a lemon buttercream to make a full on lemon cupcake. Possibilities are endless! Because we love summer and all things floral, we decided to branch out with our frosting design. We used a Wilton #150 piping tip and a Wilton Peach gel coloring to get this look. If you want a tutorial on how to achieve this just click on over to Sprinkle Bakes!
She has a really great step by step tutorial that will show you exactly how to do this! It definitely helped us out a lot!
Lemon Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- zest and juice of 2 lemons
for the buttercream
- 2 sticks unsalted butter softened
- 1 tbspn almond extract
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and line a cupcake tin with liners.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl afterwards. Slowly add in the milk and vanilla.
- Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add in the lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Fill the liners 3/4 of the way full and bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
for the frosting
- Beat the butter until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add in the powdered sugar. Once all incorporated, add in the almond extract. If icing is too thick you can add in milk a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
Assembly
- Once cupcakes are completely cool, use a piping bag and a Wilton #150 tip to pipe the flowers.