Zesty Lemon Cupcakes

This is a classic lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting. What's so special about these cupcakes? They are loaded with an abundance of lemon flavour from freshly squeezed lemon juice and freshly grated lemon zest. They have such an incredible soft texture and the tangy cream cheese frosting on the top is to die for! These are truly summer dream cupcakes and they make fantastic summer dessert.

Ingredients:

Lemon Cake:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (188g)

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

4 lemons zest freshly grated

1/2 cup unsalted butter (113g)

1 cup sugar (220g)

1 egg, large

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon extract (optional)

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeeze

Cream Frosting:

1/2 cup butter (113g)

4 ounce cream cheese (112g)

2 tsp lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 - 2 cups icing sugar (120g - 240g)

See the original recipe on my website.

Choose lemons that are unblemished, small, firm, quite heavy, are bright yellow in colour and do not have tinge of green (which indicates they are unripe). Avoid very pale lemons as these are older and will be less juicy. Look for lemons that feel smooth. Rough skin textures may be an old produce and not fresh. It may also indicate that their skins are thick and may not be juicy.

The best lemon for juicing are those with smooth and thin skin. Try to buy unwaxed lemons if we are using the skin for lemon zest. Otherwise, scrub the lemons thoroughly before zesting or use certified organic lemons if possible.

For the lemon zest, grate only the outer yellow skin. Avoid using the inner white skin as it will have a bitter taste. The lemon zest will brighten up all the flavours in the cupcakes.

It is always encouraged to have all the ingredients ready before you start baking to ensure no vital ingredients are left out.

Preheating the oven and allowing it time to reach the correct temperature before baking will ensure the cupcakes are baked perfectly. A preheated oven will cook the cupcakes all the way to its centre before the outside of the cupcakes is burnt.

In general, the middle of the oven is best for even baking. So placing rack in the centre of oven during baking allows for even baking and overall same baking time.

If you are baking cupcakes for a special event you may want to choose cupcake liners that will match the theme, colour or decor of the party or event. Otherwise you can just use any cupcake liners available.

Place the cupcake liners in the pan before you pour the batter into the pan.

An easy way to fill baking cups is to use an ice-cream scoop. Use one that measures out 1/3 cup batter when filling regular size cups. When filling mini cups, use one that measures out 2 tablespoons batter.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Then set aside.

Sifting is important to aerate the flour and remove any lumps in it. It also helps to evenly distribute the baking powder and salt throughout the flour. If the baking powder is not evenly distributed throughout the cake batter, there will be holes in the cake batter.

Baking powder acts as a leavening agent that makes the cake batter to rise. Salt enhances the flavour of all the other ingredients in the batter.

Butter provides flavour, volume and tenderizes the cake batter.

To start, the butter should be of good quality and should be at room temperature so it can incorporate the sugar sufficiently to produce a smooth and creamy batter that is light and fluffy.

Creaming method is used to produce the lightest cake with the greatest volume. Creaming is done by first softening the solid butter and this can be done by using an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or hand-held mixer with its beaters or by hand with a long wooden spoon.

Sugar added helps to tenderize, sweeten and also moisten the batter which helps keep the cake fresh. It also aids in browning.

The goal to achieve is to have maximum aeration, that is, lots of air bubbles in the fat. A well aerated batter will result in a cake with good volume and a soft texture.

Start beating butter and sugar on LOW speed and then gradually increasing the speed. The creaming of butter and sugar produces air bubbles in the fat. These air bubbles will get larger and multiply as you continue beating. Starting on LOW speed and then gradually increasing the speed allows the air bubbles to form and strengthen. Do not start at too high a speed as this will cause the finished cake to be heavy with a compact texture.

Scaping down the sides of the bowl frequently during mixing is important to develop a smooth and well mixed batter.

Some indications of light and fluffy batter:

Volume of the butter and sugar mixture has increased.

Colour of the butter has turn lighter due to the air bubbles in it.

Texture of batter becomes aerated and is creamy.

The mixture has numerous ridges in it from the beater blades.

The mixture coats the bottom and slightly up the sides of the mixing bowl.

It is still cool to touch.

Eggs provide structure, leavening, richness, colour and flavour to the cake. They also help to bind the ingredients together thus keeping the cake moist and tender.

Add in the egg ONLY when the butter and sugar mixture is light and fluffy. Room temperature egg mixes better with the batter and rise more easily. The use of cold eggs will reduce the volume of your finished cake and increases the baking time. Beat until JUST combined. Do not overbeat.

If more than one egg is used, add in the eggs one at a time. This will prevent it curdling. If there is curdling, beat the batter a little to smooth it out before continuing the addition of more eggs.

Always use large eggs for baking.

The two egg whites used is equivalent to one whole egg. Replacing a whole egg with egg whites makes the overall cake lighter. It is also a good nutritional savings as the egg whites contain no fat and no cholesterol. So, if more than one egg is used in a recipe, it's always good to consider replacing some of the whole eggs with egg whites. However, too many egg whites will make the cake dry and rubbery so it's recommended to combine both eggs and egg whites for best results.

( A good guide to keep in mind: 1 large egg = 2 large egg whites ).

Once the eggs have been combined and we have a smooth batter, flavourings like vanilla extract is added.

Try to use a pure vanilla extract for better flavour.

Also a pure lemon extract is preferred.

Grate only the outer yellow skin. Avoid using the inner white skin as it will have a bitter taste. The lemon zest will enhance the lemon flavour in the cupcakes.

It is very important NOT to over mix the batter at this point so the FOLDING technique is used here. Over mixing will result in a tough cake or the cake will sink in the centre.

Using a long wooden spoon, start by FOLDING the flour into the batter. Mix only to incorporate the ingredients.

FOLDING is a method of gently mixing ingredients so NO mixer is required. It is used to gently combine light and airy mixtures, where tenderness is desired and thus less mixing is advisable.

To FOLD, use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to cut down through the mixture, move across the bottom of the mixing bowl and come back up, folding some of the mixture from the bottom over close to the surface ( fold in a figure of '8' ), making sure all the ingredients are JUST evenly combined. Work quickly but lightly, making sure not to deflate the lighter mixture which will decrease volume of the final batter.

Note that the larger the spatula or wooden spoon, the fewer strokes are needed and the better the end results will be.

Room temperature milk is added to dissolve the salt and sugar, to add colour and richness, to moisten and activate the baking powder in the batter and also to create steam when the cake batter is placed in the oven so the cake will rise and reach its full volume.

The lemon juice adds more zing to the cake.

The flour mixture and milk are added alternately, beginning and ending with the flour mixture to ensure a smooth and light batter. This alternating between flour and milk folding into the batter preserves the air bubbles, which in turn make the cupcakes light and not heavy.

Continue adding and ending with the flour mixture, folding only until JUST combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners so that the cupcakes will bake evenly as well.

How much batter to spoon into the cupcake liners will depend on how you intend to decorate the cupcakes. if you want a dome shape on the cupcake, then fill the cupcake liners to at least 3/4 full. If a flat surface is needed, then just fill the cupcake liners 1/2 full. However, do not over fill the liners. Overfilling will cause the batter to spill over the edge of the liners as it rises and results in mis-shaped cupcakes.

If you have only one cupcake pan and your recipe calls for more cupcakes to be baked, then just cover and refrigerate the rest of the cake batter while baking the first badge. Cool the cupcake pan after the first badge and continue to bake the rest of the batter, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.

Do not put the cupcakes in the oven until it is fully preheated. Otherwise the cupcake bottoms may be over-baked.

Place the cupcake pan on the rack in the centre of the oven for even browning. However, if you need to bake on two racks, then carefully rotate the pans when the cakes are almost done.

To test that the cupcakes are cooked through, insert a toothpick or skewer in the centre of each cupcake. If the toothpick comes out clean, then the cupcakes are ready. Otherwise, bake for an extra 5 minutes and retest.

If the cupcakes are baked on two racks, be sure to test a cupcake from each rack as baking times may differ.

When you remove the cupcakes from the oven, allow the cupcakes to cool for no more than a few minutes in the baking pan. Otherwise the cupcakes will continue to bake from the heat of the pan and cause them to be dry.

Use a potholder to hold the pan and tilt it so you can remove the cupcakes and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once cupcakes have cooled completely, store them in an airtight container to retain their moisture. Cupcakes will retain their moisture at room temperature for 2 days at most. After that it's best to store them in the refrigerator or freeze them for later use. To freeze, wrap unfrosted cupcakes individually in cling wrap, pack them in a plastic bag and leave in the freezer until needed. Defrost, then frost and enjoy.

A cupcake is never complete without frosting. Cream cheese frosting used for these cupcakes, is a perfect partner for just any cupcake recipes.

Use full-fat cream cheese as light cream cheese has too much water in it. Make sure the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature.

Sieve the icing sugar (confectioners sugar) to rid of lumps.

Beat until light and fluffy. The quantity of butter and cream cheese can be varied to one's own flavour.

Vanilla extract added enhances the flavour of the lemon cream cheese frosting.

Add icing sugar (confectioners sugar) in two additions and beat until smooth. When you mix, take a spatula and pull it through the frosting to form some stiff peaks. If the peaks hold without falling over, then the frosting is thick enough to pipe. Once done, slightly chill the frosting to stiffen it more before frosting.

The amount of icing sugar determine the stiffness of the frosting. Add a little extra to have a stiffer frosting if piping decorations onto cupcakes.

Use the frosting to frost the lemon cupcakes either by spreading or filling the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your desired pastry tip.

Be sure the cupcakes have cooled completely before you start frosting. Even a tiny bit of warmth from the cupcakes can melt the frosting.

Pipe the frosting by making thick swirls onto the top of cupcakes. Frosting acts like a light seal to help cupcakes retain moisture. So be sure to cover the entire exposed part of the cupcake with frosting so as the cupcakes will stay moist longer and this is especially helpful if you are baking for an event where the cupcakes will be displayed uncovered for long period of time.

If possible, keep frosted cupcakes refrigerated until needed.

Cupcakes are fun to dress up and you can decorate the cupcakes in whichever way you desire and most importantly, it's so much fun!

Notes for baking these cupcakes:

Use the best ingredients available.

Cool ingredients to room temperature before use.

Do not overmix the cake batter.

Fill batter evenly into the cupcake liners to ensure uniform baking time.

Preheat oven before baking the cupcakes.

Bake in the centre of oven.

Do not leave cupcakes in the cupcake pan for too long.

Store cupcakes in airtight containers or wrap.

Frost the entire top of exposed cupcake to retain moisture.