I should probably just write a cookbook with all the lemon recipes I've gathered at this point. Tell me something is lemon flavored and I'm all in. Seriously, bake an old shoe covered in lemon zest and I'd probably give it a try. Ok, not really, but the point is, my love of all things lemon really knows no bounds.
When I saw this cupcake recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to give it a try!! I first made this for Easter a few years ago, and then again while I was visiting PBJ in San Francisco this past April. The minute this trip was in discussion, she requested that we bake these. And who am I to turn down that request?? It took us several days to get everything completed b/c we were busy eating all the food and visiting all the places, but they turned out great!
The official description of these is: lemon blueberry cupcakes, with a lemon curd filling and lemon cream cheese frosting. Aka, the cupcakes with a million steps. But oh, are they ever worth it!!
I got the cupcake and lemon curd recipes from There Goes The Cupcake
Ingredients
2 cups plus 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 large eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare muffin tin with cupcake papers. Sift dry ingredients into medium bowl. Transfer 1 tablespoon flour mixture to larger bowl. Add fresh blueberries and toss to coat them with flour. Set remaining flour mixture and blueberries aside.
Stir whole milk, sour cream, vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon zest in small bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar, until pale yellow and very fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, until well combined. Mix in flour mixture alternately with milk mixture, starting and ending with flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Divide batter equally among cupcake cups.
Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center of a couple cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pans on racks for about 10 minutes, then put onto racks until completely cool. Makes 24-26 cupcakes.
For the Lemon Curd:
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup lemon juice
zest of one large lemon ( I used 2)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
pinch of salt
6 large egg yolks
Directions
Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and zest.
Mix together the sugar, salt and cornstarch and add it to the pan. Whisk in the egg yolks until smooth and return to heat. Cook over medium-low heat for roughly 10 minutes until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
Once thickened, strain the mixture though a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Allow to chill in the refrigerator completely before using.
And the lemon cream cheese frosting came from Annie
Ingredients
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 large lemon
Additional fresh blueberries, for garnish
Combine the cream cheese and butter in a bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. Garnish with fresh blueberries.
And this is the finished product. These cupcakes are almost impossible to eat without a fork, but you get the perfect amount of blueberry, the perfect tang of the lemon curd, and the perfect amount of lemon buttercream with every single bite. Be prepared to set aside a good chunk of your time if you plan on making these, but then enjoy as many as you want because they're worth it and you'll deserve it once you've completed them!
