A lemony, tangy dessert that's more than worth the effort. If you haven't fallen in love with Lemon Cupcakes, trust me this one will change your mind.
For this recipe, the inspiration comes from the Pound Cake recipe which means that it is buttery, and velvety in texture and yet so light that it practically melts away in your mouth. And the icing is made of Cream Cheese which takes the whole experience to another level.
Yield - 6 Cupcakes (~95 g each including the frosting)
Baking time - 15 min
Total Time - 1 Hr
Baking tin - Cupcake/Muffin Tray (6 in 1)
Ingredients -
For the Batter -
- Lemon Zest - 6 g (~zest from 2 Lemons)
- Butter - 75 g
- Caster Sugar - 50 g
- Milkmaid - 100 g
- Flour - 100 g
- Hot Milk - 55 g
- Baking Powder - 1 tsp
For the Frosting -
- Lemon Juice - 10 g
- Icing Sugar - 70 g
- Butter - 35 g
- Cream Cheese - 70 g
Making the Cupcakes -
- We'll start with room temperature Butter (75g) and add Lemon Zest (5 g) to it along with Caster Sugar (50 g). Mix this with a spatula until well combined.
- Add the Milkmaid (100 g) and mix well again.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder and just fold everything together with a spatula. It's okay to have stray flour at this stage.
- Heat the Milk (45 g) up to just boiling point. Or in the microwave for 30 secs.
- Add the hot milk to the batter and now mix everything up quickly. Hot milk prevents gluten formation and keeps the cupcake soft and velvety.
- The batter is thick and not flowy. That's how we want it. Pour the batter into the 6 cupcake liners placed in the baking tray. The batter will be filled up to 2/3rd of the mold to give it space to rise.
- Bake at 180℃ for 15-16 mins.
- While the cake is baking, let's prepare the frosting. Take room temperature (very important) Butter (35 g) and whisk it using a hand blender till smooth and pale in color.
- Then add the Icing Sugar (70 g) in two parts whisking properly as you go. We need the sugar to completely dissolve in the butter otherwise the icing will not be smooth.
- Once all the sugar has been dissolved, add the Cream Cheese (70 g) and the Lemon juice (10 g) and whisk for the final time.
- The frosting should have hard peaks by now which means that if you scoop it with a spoon and hold it upside down, it will not fall. If it is falling, you need to keep whisking.
- Once it is done, fill it in a piping bag with a star nozzle.
- After the cupcakes have cooled down, keep your piping bag perpendicular to the cupcake and push the frosting forward with all your might. Do not do any motion with hand apart from pushing out the icing and you will see a beautiful cupcake in front of you.
- Alternatively, you could start with a corner and cover the whole top within a revolving motion. That looks wonderful too!
- For garnish, if you have some lemon zest remaining, sprinkle that on the top and you are set.
These cupcakes will last for a couple of days in the fridge, that is if you have any remaining at all.
Do try these out and tag us on Instagram when you do. Would love to see how they turn out!