Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I love lemons! But more importantly, lemon desserts! I’ve yet to meet a sweet and tart lemon dessert I did not like, but among my favorites are lemon cupcakes! Lemon cake is great too, but for some reason cupcakes just seem happier to me. I don’t know why that is? Is it like how anything miniature sized has us “Oooing” and “Awwwing”? Perhaps? But I have always felt this way about cupcakes! So today I’m sharing a delicious lemon cupcake recipe with cream cheese frosting from scratch!

If you caught my post yesterday, I shared a Mother’s Day tablescape in my friend’s beautiful new home! It was so fun to shoot in someone else’s home and switch things up, especially on her gorgeous farmhouse table.

I decided to bake them in ramekins, instead of a traditional cupcake pan for two reasons. First, I loved these muted pink ramekins so much, and how their soft pink hue coordinated with the tables color scheme. I talk a lot in my kitchen decor post about how we can use pretty serve ware not only for entertaining but also as decor, and these totally did the trick. And secondly, if you are an avid cupcake lover myself, sometimes you don’t always want to reach for that second cupcake, but one was just not enough. Using the ramekins, I was able to pour slightly more batter into these tiny dishes, thus making jumbo sized cupcakes. I mean who doesn’t want more cupcakes?!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg + 2 egg whites
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 c. cake flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. kosher sea salt
• 1/2 c. full-fat sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice

FOR THE FROSTING:

• 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. kosher sea salt
• 3 c. powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 (8 oz.) block original cream cheese

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and zest together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
• Add vanilla, egg and egg whites. Beat on medium speed until combined, about 1-2 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice and sour cream.
  
• With mixing speed on low, gradually alternate adding the dry ingredients and the lemon juice and sour cream mixture to the wet ingredients, do not over mix.
  

• Pour batter into ramekins, divided evenly.
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The edges should be slightly golden brown in color. Remove from the oven and cool.
• Meanwhile, to prepare the cream cheese frosting, cream the butter, lemon zest, vanilla and salt for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. With mixing speed on low gradually add the powdered sugar and lemon juice, beat until it forms a thick paste. Add the cream cheese and mix on the lowest speed. Place in refrigerator to chill for at least 15 minutes or until cupcakes have completely cooled. Allow to stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before spreading on cooled cupcakes.

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