Lemon Cupcakes

I saw this recipe baked on the Recipe Showdown on Food Network the other night and knew I had to give it a try. I changed a few things to my liking, but they are wonderful. This recipe calls for lemon curd, which is hard to find and when you do find it, it's terribly expensive. I've had a lemon curd recipe that I've used for years and is SO easy to make. I also used the Trefoil Girl Scout cookies. They're my favorite for shortbread like cookie crumbs.

Lemon Curd:

1 cup white sugar
3 extra large eggs
1 cup fresh lemon juice

3 lemons, zested
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Cook in the microwave for 30 second intervals, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Store for up to a month in the refrigerator.

For crust and topping:
1 1/2 cups Trefoil cookie crumbs (1 1/2 sleeves of cookies)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Combine the cookie crumbs, sugar and butter until moistened. Set aside.

For the batter:
8 ounces cream cheese, soft
1/2 cup sour cream
2 extra large eggs, room temp
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 small box (3.4 ounce) instant lemon pudding
1 (18.25 ounce) box lemon
1/2 cup lemon curd

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners.

In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time and mix just until combined. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Add vegetable oil, water, and the box of lemon pudding. Mix until combined. Add cake mix and beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. The batter will be very thick.

Place a heaping tablespoon of shortbread cookie crumb mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup and press in firmly. Reserve remaining crumb mixture for topping. Using an ice cream scoop, fill 3/4 of the way full. Set aside.

Dip a wooden spoon in water and make a thumb size well indentation in the center of each cupcake. Pipe 1 teaspoon lemon curd into each indentation. Sprinkle tops of cupcakes evenly with remaining cookie crumbs.

Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly golden on top, rotating pans halfway through baking.

Double Vanilla Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

1 1/3 c all purpose flour

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 stick butter, soft

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, separated

1/2 c whole milk

1/4 c sour cream

1 T white vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean

Frosting:

1 stick butter, soft

2 c powdered sugar

1 vanilla bean

1 tsp white vanilla extract

1 T milk

For the cake, preheat the oven to 350. Place the milk in a small saucepan. Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seed and add to the milk. Also add the scraped vanilla bean. Heat milk on stove, but don't scald. Let bean and seeds steep and cool.

Beat the butter for 1 minute. Add sugar and beat for another 3 minutes until fluffy. Add the egg yolks and beat another minute. Scrape down bowl.

Meanwhile, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Remove vanilla bean from saucepan. Add sour cream and vanilla extract and stir to combine. Add half the flour mixture, then the milk mixture and end with the remaining flour mixture. Don't over mix. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white to stiff peaks. Fold into the batter just until combined.

Fill muffin cups to 3/4 full. Bake 20-25 minutes or until they are just starting to turn golden. Let cool on a baking rack. I usually get between 16 and 18 cupcakes.

For the frosting, whip together the butter, powdered sugar, scraped vanilla bean seeds and vanilla. Add milk if needed. Whip for 5 minutes. Spread onto cooled cupcakes.

A Baking We Will Go!

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, along with flour, sugar, etc. Since, I can't seem to stop cooking and baking on a daily basis these days, I've decided to start keeping track of my favorites here. Maybe I can even learn how to take pictures of my masterpieces and post those as well. Please enjoy and if anyone has any recommendations, I'd love to hear them!