Lemon and Black Raspberry Cupcakes

Apologies are in order for this week's cupcake poll mixup. I looked at the poll last night and saw that Lemon Raspberry was beating Lemon Butterflies by a few points, so I assumed that wouldn't change much overnight... Well we all know what happens when we assume! I made Lemon Rasperry cupcakes this morning, and THEN logged into blogger to find out I MADE THE WRONG CUPCAKES! Lemon Butterflies had pulled ahead by 2 votes! Oops... No worries though. You can use the same cake and frosting recipes to make the Butterflies. I'll even add the instructions at the bottom :) Also, in the poll entry I said all the recipes were going to be from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans, but I got this lemon cupcake recipe from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella. It's delicious, but you can be mad if you want.
EDIT: I mentioned in the last post that I wasn't a big fan of citrus desserts. Even though these cupcakes did taste good, I still don't prefer the taste of lemon in sweets.

ingredients! I had enough batter for 30 cupcakes, so I had to use my old rusty 6-cup muffin pan.
Lemon cupcakes cooling on the back porch...Cut a cone out of each cupcake, spoon 1 tsp black raspberry perserves, and replace the top.Mmmm... these are so yummy!

MY NOTES: I added 1 tsp vanilla extract to the cupcake batter. I got 30 cupcakes.

Lemon Cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or lemon concentrate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (my own addition)

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
2. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time to creamed mixture, beating 1 minute after each addition.
3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk. Mix until completely integrated. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Mix the batter for 30 seconds.
5. Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

Whipped Lemon Buttercream (my own recipe)
Makes 2-3 cups
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/3 cup heavy cream

Cream the butter and confectioners' sugar in an electric mixer on low to medium speed until fluffy. With the mixer on low, add lemon juice and zest, then slowly add the cream. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

WANNA MAKE BUTTERFLIES?
Use a sharp knife to slice the top (about 1/4-inch thick slice) off each cupcake. Dust the top with powdered sugar and cut in half. Put frosting on the cupcakes, and press the tops into the frosting (powdered sugar side up), tilted slightly so they look like butterfly wings.

photo from flickr user indigomuse

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

This week, wing night fell on Fat Tuesday! What a perfect opportunity to put a little extra effort into the decorating aspect of my cupcakes. I am definitely no cake decorator. In my cupcakes, flavor is always the first priority. So for me, extra effort just means adding a little color to the frosting and piping some stars. The cupcakes are from the "Mardi Gras Cupcakes" recipe in Cupcakes From the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn.

From the book:
"What better day than Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, the day before the Christian season of Lent begins, to forget about calories? Whereas King Cake might be the traditional sweet on Mardi Gras, these fun cupcakes are an easy version. Instead of a time-consuming yeast bread dough, you make a quick cream cheese-pound cake batter."
(More about the King Cake)

The original recipe calls for a simple confectioners' sugar glaze, but how totally boring! Instead, I made a whipped buttercream to go along with the flavor of the cupcakes. I'll always use this recipe when I don't feel like getting let down by another from-scratch vanilla cake recipe. These were FAN-TAS-TIC! Seriously... make these... right now... get in the kitchen!

Mardi Gras Cupcakes
Makes 24

CUPCAKES:
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 to 3 pecan halves (optional)

GLAZE:
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons milk

GARNISH:
Purple, green, and yellow or gold sprinkles
Gold dragees (optional)
Chocolate gold coins (optional)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
2. Prepare the cupcake batter: Place the cake mix, cream cheese, water, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla and almond extracts in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it 3/4 full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) If desired, push pecans deeply into the center of 2 or 3 cupcakes so they cannot be seen. Place the pans in the oven.
3. Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 16 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool completely for 30 minutes before glazing.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze: Place the confectioners' sugar and milk in a small mixing bowl and whisk to combine until smooth.
5. With a soup spoon, drizzle the glaze over the cooled cupcakes. Immediately garnish with sugar sprinkles, shaking on the colors in three separate strips. Add chocolate coins and gold dragees, if desired. The cupcakes are ready to serve. (Remove the dragees before serving the cupcakes.)

Store these cupcake in a cake saver or under a glass dome at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Whipped Buttercream (my recipe)
Makes 2-3 cups (enough frost 12 cupcakes)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/3 cup heavy cream

Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer on low to medium speed until fluffy. With the mixer on low, add extracts, then slowly add the cream. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.