Good morning, everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend! I had the best weekend ever. My friends and I went to get some amazing burgers at Kuma’s Corner, had a super fun movie night, and then celebrated my boyfriend’s birthday on Sunday. Since it was his birthday, he got to pick the dessert…which was inspired by a beautiful photo on FoodPornDaily.com: Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes with Tangy Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting. My kitchen smelled amazing.
Lemon cupcakes with lemon curd and lemon creamcheese frosting
| LEMON POPPY SEED CUPCAKES |
| Cake: |
| 1 box Lemon cake mix |
| 1 box lemon pudding mix |
| 1/4 cup vegetable oil |
| 3 eggs, lightly beaten |
| 1/4 cup water |
| 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice |
| 2 tablespoons lemon zest |
| 3 tablespoons poppy seeds |
| COMBINE THE CAKE AND PUDDING MIXES IN A LARGE BOWL, STIRRING TO BLEND. ADD THE OIL, EGGS, WATER AND LEMON JUICE, STIRRING AFTER EACH ADDITION. FOLD IN THE LEMON ZEST AND POPPY SEEDS UNTIL JUST BLENDED. SPOON THE BATTER EVENLY INTO THE PREPARED CUPCAKE TINS, ABOUT 3/4 FULL. BAKE ON THE MIDDLE OVEN RACK AT 325 DEGREES UNTIL THE TOPS OF THE CUPCAKES SPRING BACK TO THE TOUCH AND ARE NOT TOO GOLDEN; ABOUT 15 MINUTES. COOL IN THE PAN FOR 15 MINUTES, AND THEN ALLOW TO COOL COMPLETELY ON A WIRE RACK BEFORE FROSTING OR DECORATING. |
| Lemon Curd: |
| Zest of 2 lemons |
| 1/2 cup lemon juice |
| 1/4 cup granulated sugar |
| 1 egg |
| 1 egg yolk |
| IN A HEAVY MEDIUM SAUCEPAN, STIR TOGETHER THE LEMON ZEST, JUICE, AND SUGAR AND BRING TO A SIMMER OVER MEDIUM HEAT. IN A SMALL BOWL, WHISK TOGETHER THE EGG AND EGG YOLK. WHISK THE LEMON MIXTURE INTO THE EGGS TO TEMPER THEM. SCRAPE THE MIXTURE BACK INTO THE SAUCEPAN AND PLACE OVER MEDIUM HEAT, WHISKING CONSTANTLY UNTIL IT THICKENS, ABOUT 5 MINUTES. REMOVE FROM THE HEAT AND LET COOL COMPLETELY. |
| Icing: |
| 1 8-oz package cream cheese, at room temperature |
| 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar |
| zest of 1 lemon |
| 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice |
| WITH AN ELECTRIC MIXER ON MEDIUM, BEAT THE CREAM CHEESE UNTIL SOFTENED. SLOWLY ADD THE SUGAR, ZEST, AND JUICE AND BEAT UNTIL CREAMY, ABOUT 3 MINUTES. |
| To Assemble:If you have pastry bags, you can load a bag with the curd and poke the cupcake through the top and squeeze it inside before frosting. If you don’t have pastry bags, simply use a knife to cut a small hole in the middle of the cupcake. Be careful not to cut all the way through to the bottom. Remove the cake and fill the hole with the curd before placing the cake back in the hole. Frost the top and you won’t even know the difference.If you’re filling your cupcake with something more substantial than lemon curd, like frosting for example, you can use a pastry bag and a tip and squeeze the frosting into the cupcake from the bottom so you don’t ruin the top (like a Twinkie!). I don’t recommend doing this with lemon curd, however, because it’s too runny. |
Every Monday is a “Reci-bee” post, where I share my favorite recipes, recipe collections, and cooking and baking hints and tips.
The Hob-bee Hive 