This weekend we attended a baby shower for a family at church. I was asked to make a dessert for the event. The father-to-be LOVES lemonhead candy. I decided that I would try to make a lemon cupcake with lemonheads. The following is the recipe that I came up with for the event. It was inspired by the "Incredible Lemon Cake" from food.com and "Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting" from all recipes.com. I modified them a little to suit my creation. Feel free to pin this to Pinterest to save for future use...I know I did.
Lemon Cake:
Prep time: 35 minutes
Bake time: 15-18 minutes
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
1/2 lb salted butter (room temperature)
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs (room temperature)
1/3 cup lemon zest
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place cupcake liners in cupcake tin
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes)
4. With mixer on medium speed, add eggs (one at a time), and the lemon zest
5. Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a separate bowl
6. In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup lemon juice, buttermilk, and vanilla
7. Alternatively add flour and buttermilk mixtures to batter
8. Scoop batter into cupcake liners and bake for 15-18 minutes
9. Remove cupcakes from the oven and let them cool
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:
Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup butter (room temperature)
6 T. freshly squeeze lemon juice
4 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups confectioners' sugar
Directions:
Beat cream cheese, butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla together until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Slowly add confectioners' sugar and blend until creamy. Add more juice or sugar to adjust the texture.
Finishing Touches:
Crush lemonheads in a blender (or use old fashioned lemon drops to get better consistency). Mix crushed lemonheads with 2 T. of sugar. The mixture may clump together. Just break up again when you are ready to use.
Take cooled cupcake and pipe lemon cream cheese frosting on top of the cupcake. Spread crushed lemonhead mixture on top of the frosting. Place a whole lemonhead on top of the cupcake for final touch.
They were delicious!!!
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