Ever since i had that divine lemon cupcake at Sugar Sweet Sunshine in New York, i have been on the hunt for a lemon cupcake, hoping to recreate that little cupful of heaven in my kitchen.
My ideal lemon cupcake is light, moist and fluffy with a strong citrus undertone. Topped with a velvety, light lemon frosting, the cake would crumble slightly at my first bite, leaving a whisper of its sweet and sour undertones in its trail.
To kick start the start of the search was a recipe i found on Epicurious. With plenty of reviewers raving about it, it sounded promising enough.
The cupcakes were pretty easy to whip up. I did, however, cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy, and whipped the eggs in a little longer in hopes of getting a lighter batter, having read that the cupcakes were pretty dense in several reviews. I also skipped filling the cupcakes just because i don’t appreciate cupcakes with fillings in them.
In spite of my best efforts to lighten the batter, the cupcakes turned out tight crumbed and a little dry- nothing that couldn’t be rectified with a simple lemon syrup though. I really did like the lemony flavour of the cupcake though. Paired with the tangy, creamy frosting, the cupcakes went down pretty easily though they seem pretty suited for breakfast rather than dessert.
All in all, these were pretty decent cupcakes. Not bad but not fantastic and certainly not quite what i was looking for.
So i guess it’s back to the kitchen for more lemon cupcake recipe testings. More lemon goodness?- no complaints there from me 
Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Frosting [adapted from Epicurious.com]
Ingredients
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp lemon zest
60g butter softened
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp + 1 tsp lemon juice
Lemon syrup
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Lemon Cream
60g cream cheese
4 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
- Preheat oven at 170C. Line 6 cupcake tins with liners, filling the rest with water so they don’t burn and set aside.
- Whisk flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Whisk zest in and set bowl aside. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and caster sugar till mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs in, one at a time, beating till fluffy after each addition. Stir lemon juice in before gently folding flour mixture in.
- Divide mixture between the 6 tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes till golden brown.
- To make lemon syrup Combine lemon juice, sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to boil and stir till sugar dissolve. Taste and add more lemon juice or sugar if desired. Let cool before drizzling on cupcakes.
- To make lemon cream frosting Beat cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice together till smooth and creamy. Taste and add more lemon juice or sugar if desired. Makes 6
