It is summer and lemon is such a wonderful light flavor. It is the essence of summer. I have been craving lemony summery deliciousness. Plus I needed to find a delectable lemon cupcake as I will be making cupcakes for a friends wedding in August. Lemon is one of the flavors I agreed to make. I don’t do boxed cake mixes…unless in a dire situation.
When evaluating a lemon cupcake recipe I want something that is light and airy and smack you in the face lemony. I don’t want anyone to ask what flavor the cupcakes are. I want you to know right away!
After some Pinterest research I decided to try this Lemon Cupcake Recipe from Cooking Classy. It is a fantastic light airy lemony cupcake recipe. It takes some work in zesting the lemons, but worth it. This is probably one of the best lemon cakes I have ever made. Too often they are short on lemon flavor or coarse and heavy textured.
When these come out of the oven, they are brushed with a beautiful lemon syrup. This adds not only more lemon flavor, but keeps them moist and delicious. If I were making these for a more exclusively adult event, I would probably use limoncello.
Once cooled they are filled with owie-gooey lemon curd. In the middle of my lemon cupcakes is Ina Garten’s Lemon Curd. It is easy to make. This is the first time I have made lemon curd, ever. And oh so delicious. The girl LOVES it…I was almost afraid to put it in the fridge to chill, out of concern that she would devour it.
To top off these delectable little numbers I used the lemon butter cream from the Cooking Classy blog and then as a cherry on top—make that lemon slice, I made these fantastic candied lemon slices from Use Real Butter. The only modification I made was that after I let these babies dry for about 18-20 hours, I then rolled them in granulated sugar. They are absolutely beautiful and oh so tasty–and aren’t they pretty?
The other types of cupcakes I will be making are: Dark chocolate with Sea Salt Caramel and a classic vanilla; I have some research to do. I am sure my family will gladly participate.
