Today, class I bring you a lighter recipe. Something very different from my previous post (red velvet is a heavy recipe, this is not). Although it should be noted that its nothing groundbreaking, nothing earth-shattering, nothing that hasn’t been done before or that uses sushi flavoring or something weird. I don’t really do “weird.” Well, I do, because I am kinda weird, actually. But I’m just a cupcake-traditionalist. I believe that there are some flavors that just don’t belong in cupcake form, and also I’m not a big fan of many flavors (I don’t like green tea) or fruit (I hate strawberries.. the flavor is okay, but no ACTUAL strawberries- yuck). So I stick with the basics usually, unless its a specific request. If someone else wants it, and is going to eat it all, then I’ll make it. If I’m gonna eat it, it better be something I like.

As far as this recipe goes, its just a nice, light, spring-y cupcake using lemon and vanilla flavor.

The cake itself is a white cupcake, meaning its made with no egg yolks just egg whites. I colored it pink but it tastes vanilla. The frosting is a lemon buttercream colored yellow, which is actually pretty tart and surprising. The toppers are pink shoes and handbags so therefore I have deemed these Fashionably Sweet & Tart Momma’s Day cupcakes. Sweet for the vanilla, tart for the lemon, and fashionably for the adorable little accessories on top. Oh- and because its Mother’s Day on Sunday… thats where the ‘Momma’ part comes in.

I’ve used the cake recipe a few times before and its a favorite around here. Its moist and really has a nice flavor. The lemon buttercream is new for me (in terms of flavor, I never made lemon buttercream using extract before, just zest) but isn’t anything complex by any means. This is an awesome birthday cupcake, especially a spring or summer birthday. Its really light, and tasty but not heavy. The lack of egg yolks helps with that.

PLEASE NOTE: THE RECIPE I’M POSTING MAKES 3 DOZEN CUPCAKES. If you want to make less, convert the recipe.

WHITE CUPCAKES

Things you need:

(Makes 3 dozen.)

• 4 ½ cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 ¼ cups sugar
• 7 large egg whites

What you need to do is:

1. Line cupcake or muffin tins with papers; set aside. Into a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and vanilla in a glass measuring cup.
2. Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat until pale and creamy. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add sugar in a steady stream; continue beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low.
3. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk mixture and starting and ending with the flour. Do not overbeat.
4. In a clean bowl of electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third of the whites into flour mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining egg whites in two batches, being careful not to deflate the whites.
5. Pour batter into prepared tins, filling cups to about ½ inch from the tops. Bake until a cake tester inserted near the centers comes out clean and the tops spring back when pressed lightly in the center, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool completely before icing or storing.

LEMON BUTTERCREAM

You will need:

• 2 cups of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 3 ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. lemon extract

Then you:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and vanilla.
2. Add confectioner’s sugar alternately with lemon juice until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
3. Finally, beat in the lemon extract.
4. Frost cupcakes and enjoy.

You may need to add more vanilla extract or lemon juice, depending on how sweet or tart you want it.

And all-purpose flour works fine for the cupcakes, you could sift it once or twice if you feel the need but it works just fine.

Once again I used my favorite Wilton tip, 2D, to pipe on the frosting.

And lets all give thanks to my brand spankin’ new camera for these wonderful CLEAR pictures! Thanks, Olympus. And yes, my camera is pink:

And on that note, thats the end of my Mother’s Day cupcake post. Happy Momma’s Day, momma’s!

I hope you all get lots of cupcakes (that you don’t have to bake yourself, haha)…