lemon buttermilk cupcakes with raspberry swiss meringue buttercream

August 18, 2014 - Cakes, Desserts, Kids - Tagged: , , , - 13 comments

I think I have been overdosing on chocolate lately so I banned myself from baking anything with chocolate for a while (DIE!).

For how long? Well, that remains to be seen.

So no chocolate (DIE!) means I needed to find something that actually appeals to my tastebuds.

THINK.
THINK.
THINK.

This is a bit like going cold turkey.

TRYING NOT TO PANIC.

     

In the end, I figured that it had to be something citrusy. I love anything that is slightly sour. So I looked around and chanced upon this book that I had bought (but never tried any of the recipes) and there was this recipe for a lemon and buttermilk cupcake.

That sounded pretty good! So I decided to make these cupcakes.

To start, I creamed together butter and sugar.

Once this had turned light and fluffy, the egg whites were added, one at a time, and mixed.

You will need to scrape with a spatula to make sure everything had been incorporated.

I added the lemon extract.

And the lemon zest.

And mixed.

The flour mixture and the buttermilk were added in the sequence flour-buttermilk-flour.

The last ingredient to be added was the lemon juice. FRESHLY SQUEEZED, please!

Once everything was well-mixed, the batter was transferred into cupcake liners, and baked.

They were cooled in the baking trays for about 10 minutes before I transferred them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

I used a Raspberry Swiss Meringue buttercream (SMBC) to frost these cupcakes. I did this by making the SMBC, then added raspberry puree into the SMBC.

I have included the recipe for the Raspberry Swiss Meringue buttercream below, but for a step-by-step pictorial guide on how to make SMBC, see here.

I frosted the cupcakes with a Wilton 1M tip.

And topped the cupcakes with Raspberry sanding sugar and little hearts quins.

 

I loved these cupcakes because of the lemon flavour which you get from the freshly squeezed lemon juice.

In addition to that, there is also a slight tangy taste from the buttermilk.

Surprising, Aden and Jadelyn loved this cupcake. They each had one and asked for more!!

Wonders never cease!

Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes with Lemon Cream
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For the cupcakes
  1. 1 cup (125g) plain flour
  2. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  3. 1/4 teaspoon soda
  4. 1/8 teaspoon salt
  5. 3/4 cup (150g) sugar - I reduced this by 50%
  6. 1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  7. 2 egg whites
  8. 2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
  9. 1/2 teaspoon lemon oil or lemon extract - I used lemon extract
  10. 1/3 cup (80ml) buttermilk (See here for instructions on to make your own buttermilk)
  11. 1/4 freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
For the Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
  1. Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
  2. 4 egg whites
  3. 1 1/4 cups sugar
  4. 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed
  5. 1 teaspoon vanilla
  6. 1/3 cup raspberry puree
For the Lemon Cream
  1. 2/3 cup (160ml) whipping (35%) cream
  2. 3 tablespoons icing sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (from about 1/2 a lemon)
  4. 1/2 cup lemon curd (See here for recipe)
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  2. Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  3. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  4. Add lemon extract (or lemon oil) and lemon zest. Mix.
  5. Add flour and buttermilk in the sequence flour-buttermilk-flour. Mix until batter is smooth. Scrape bowl occasionally.
  6. Add lemon juice. Blend well.
  7. Transfer to cupcake liners (3/4 full) and bake at 180°C for 20-22 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the cupcake emerges cleanly.
  8. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
  1. Combine egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a stand mixer and set the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly and cook until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture reaches 160°C (71°F).
  2. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. On high speed, beat the mixture until it holds stiff glossy peaks and has cooled down; about 6 minutes.
  3. Switch to the paddle attachment. On medium-low speed, add several tablespoons of butter at a time and beat well after each addition. {Beat on medium-high speed for several minutes if the buttercream is not smooth enough after adding all the butter.}
  4. On low speed, add in the vanilla and raspberry puree and beat until smooth; about 2 minutes.
For the Lemon Cream
  1. Whisk cream, icing sugar and lemon zest until stiff peaks form.
  2. Gently fold lemon curd into whipped cream.
  3. Spread or dollop over cooled cupcakes right before serving.
Adapted from 125 Best Cupcake recipes by Julie Hasson
Adapted from 125 Best Cupcake recipes by Julie Hasson
The Domestic Goddess Wannabe http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/
A CELEBRATORY GIVEAWAY!
To celebrate winning The Best Cooking Blog at in this year’s Singapore Blog Awards, I am giving away a set of Philips Jaime Oliver Stick Blender. Set includes hand blender, chopper and whisk.

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To take part in the giveaway, simply click on the icon below!

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe.

I am also sharing this post with Cook Your Books hosted by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours.

 




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