Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

Welcome back to Someone’s In The Kitchen! It’s spring in our kitchen this week and we have a cupcake recipe for you guys that feels perfect for the season. Who doesn’t love cupcakes? They have become a universal language. But they are especially lovely when they involve moist lemon cake, a sweet raspberry curd filling, and fluffy lemon buttercream piped in swirls on top. Yes, Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes are what’s on the menu this week!  So plan a picnic and enjoy these lovelies with friends! 🙂

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes –

We made these Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes for our church Easter dinner this year and they were a hit! It actually started out as a two layer cake, which I (Krystal) tested out a couple days before Easter. The picture of this cake looked amazing and I was hopeful that mine would turn out just as beautiful. I swear I followed the recipe to the letter but alas it was not to be. The cake ended up falling flat.. it looked bad and tasted even worse. Oh the joys of baking! However, while the cake was a no go, the raspberry curd and lemon buttercream turned out absolutely heavenly! So I still had hope this could be a great combo. Not wanting to give up on it, Cec and I did something …. something that goes against everything we believe in: Yes, we used a cake mix!!! (gasp) As much I believe in making things from scratch it’s nice to know that you can pick up a cake mix and it always turns out perfect.

We made them into cupcakes, injected the raspberry curd into the middle, piped on the lemon buttercream, decorated them with little candy Easter eggs, and viola! These cupcakes are so moist and the raspberry curd compliments the lemon cake perfectly… it’s a combo that’s just meant to be. Oh and don’t get me started on the lemon buttercream! It’s a fluffy, creamy, lemony piece of heaven! We added a little yellow food coloring to it just to get the perfect color. If your looking for a yummy, fresh, and spring inspired cupcake, these Lemon Raspberry  Cupcakes will be your best friends!

Ingridients:
1 box lemon cake mix (or your favorite lemon cake recipe)

Raspberry Curd Filling Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
Two 1/2-pints ripe raspberries or one 12-ounce package frozen raspberries, thawed
5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Lemon Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (or lemon extract)
3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Make cupcakes according to cake mix package directions.

Make raspberry curd: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the raspberries, egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and salt and cook, mashing the berries and stirring frequently at first and them constantly at the end, until thickened, about 10 minutes (this took longer for me — about 15+). Allow this to cool and then cover (with plastic wrap touching surface of curd to prevent skin from forming) and refrigerate until ready to use.

When cupcakes are cool; fill a pipping bag with raspberry curd and inject it into the middle of each cupcake. Be careful not to over fill.

Make frosting: Beat the butter and zest with an electric mixer on medium speed in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the lemon juice and beat for 1 minute longer. Fill pipping bag with frosting and pipe frosting onto cupcakes, decorate as desired and devour!

(Recipe adapted from http://willowbirdbaking.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/lemon-raspberry-cake/)