cupcakes are on my mind. So are sandals and dresses and puppies and teeny tiny floral prints. Everything cute and happy keeps traipsing merrily through my mind shouting "look at me! aren't I adorable!" I've bought two new pairs of brightly colored skinny jeans, every time I do my nails it's in pastels, and somehow I keep trying to dye my hair blonde {not that my iron-filled well water wants to allow it to stay light without darkening within two weeks of washes, mind you}. Either it's spring or I'm a much, much more chipper person than I think I am. for now, I'm blaming the yoga.
In any case, I've been craving making cupcakes. Adorable, time consuming cupcakes the likes of which Kristen Wiig bakes with quiet desperation in Bridesmaids. Except, I want to make a whole batch and hand them out to friends and strangers. I'm also thinking of French macaroons and madelines, faintly scented with Earl Grey. Still, it is teeny, adorable cupcakes that seem to be calling most often.
The major production lemon-lemon-lemonX4 cake from Easter has also been floating around in the empty space above my neck, too. It was delicious, tasting like a lemon meringue pie in cake form, but it's too much. It's not an everyday or even occasional cake. It's special occasion cake all the way. It calls for an stand or electric mixer. I usually stir cake batter with a spoon. But the cake itself is delicious, light and dense, faintly scented with lemon oil. It's a citrus pound cake looking for something to tart it up. So, I decided to thin the batter a bit, swirl it with cherry preserves, and make it into cupcakes with a lemon cream cheese frosting. It's like the lemon layer cake, only cuter and easier.
Lemon Cherry Swirl Cupcakes
1 stick (or 1/4 pound or 8 tablespoons or 1/2 cup) butter
1 and 1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely chopped
2 eggs
4 ounces cherry preserves, or other fruit preserve/jam
1 and 1/4 cup flour
1 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
vanilla
8 ounces cream cheese
zest of 1 lemon, finely chopped
1/4 cup milk
yellow food coloring
powdered sugar
Cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy, then add in the eggs individually and mix well. Next, mix in the milk, lemon juice & vanilla, then the mixed together dry ingredients {if/when you mix together the milk and lemon juice together separately, it will curdle. this is nothing to worry about as you've just made something like lemony buttermilk}
Once the batter is a thick but somewhat pourable, take half the cherry preserves and fold them in with a spatula. Do not mix well. Add the other half {or enough to make a swirl throughout the entire batch of batter}, continuing to fold gently. Be sure to stop mixing well before you think you should, as you want a distinctive swirl of the preserves through the batter. Think of fudge ripple ice cream as your guide. I found it helpful to take the preserves out of the jar and stir well in a separate bowl before adding them to the batter.
Use a ladle or ice cream scoop to fill your paper-lined cupcake tins about 1/2 to 2/3 full. I used a small cookie scoop, placing two dollops per cupcake. This batch made 16 cupcakes.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. This is a deceptive cupcake: the top will not brown unless you leave them in too long.
While the cupcakes are baking, mix together the cream cheese and lemon zest, then add the milk and a drop or two of yellow food coloring. Finally, mix in as much powdered sugar as necessary to make a sweet and stiff icing. It's subjective, but be prepared to use multiple cups of powdered sugar with no discernible changes in the consistency. I ended up using about a pound of powdered sugar, in total.
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely, then ice. Since I was going for super cute, I piped the icing on with a decorative tip, but a butter knife and a swirling pattern is my typical method of icing delivery.
"Be well. Do good work. Keep in touch." - Garrison Keillor
In any case, I've been craving making cupcakes. Adorable, time consuming cupcakes the likes of which Kristen Wiig bakes with quiet desperation in Bridesmaids. Except, I want to make a whole batch and hand them out to friends and strangers. I'm also thinking of French macaroons and madelines, faintly scented with Earl Grey. Still, it is teeny, adorable cupcakes that seem to be calling most often.
The major production lemon-lemon-lemonX4 cake from Easter has also been floating around in the empty space above my neck, too. It was delicious, tasting like a lemon meringue pie in cake form, but it's too much. It's not an everyday or even occasional cake. It's special occasion cake all the way. It calls for an stand or electric mixer. I usually stir cake batter with a spoon. But the cake itself is delicious, light and dense, faintly scented with lemon oil. It's a citrus pound cake looking for something to tart it up. So, I decided to thin the batter a bit, swirl it with cherry preserves, and make it into cupcakes with a lemon cream cheese frosting. It's like the lemon layer cake, only cuter and easier.
Lemon Cherry Swirl Cupcakes
1 stick (or 1/4 pound or 8 tablespoons or 1/2 cup) butter
1 and 1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely chopped
2 eggs
4 ounces cherry preserves, or other fruit preserve/jam
1 and 1/4 cup flour
1 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
vanilla
8 ounces cream cheese
zest of 1 lemon, finely chopped
1/4 cup milk
yellow food coloring
powdered sugar
Cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy, then add in the eggs individually and mix well. Next, mix in the milk, lemon juice & vanilla, then the mixed together dry ingredients {if/when you mix together the milk and lemon juice together separately, it will curdle. this is nothing to worry about as you've just made something like lemony buttermilk}
Once the batter is a thick but somewhat pourable, take half the cherry preserves and fold them in with a spatula. Do not mix well. Add the other half {or enough to make a swirl throughout the entire batch of batter}, continuing to fold gently. Be sure to stop mixing well before you think you should, as you want a distinctive swirl of the preserves through the batter. Think of fudge ripple ice cream as your guide. I found it helpful to take the preserves out of the jar and stir well in a separate bowl before adding them to the batter.
Use a ladle or ice cream scoop to fill your paper-lined cupcake tins about 1/2 to 2/3 full. I used a small cookie scoop, placing two dollops per cupcake. This batch made 16 cupcakes.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. This is a deceptive cupcake: the top will not brown unless you leave them in too long.
While the cupcakes are baking, mix together the cream cheese and lemon zest, then add the milk and a drop or two of yellow food coloring. Finally, mix in as much powdered sugar as necessary to make a sweet and stiff icing. It's subjective, but be prepared to use multiple cups of powdered sugar with no discernible changes in the consistency. I ended up using about a pound of powdered sugar, in total.
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely, then ice. Since I was going for super cute, I piped the icing on with a decorative tip, but a butter knife and a swirling pattern is my typical method of icing delivery.
"Be well. Do good work. Keep in touch." - Garrison Keillor
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