Vanilla Lemon Lime Cupcakes

Summer always puts me in the mood for all things citrus. I decided last week I wanted to expand my baking horizons and try a few things I have never made before. So I decided to make Lemon Curd with the intent of using it as a filling for some cupcakes. Then I got sick and the lemon curd sat in my fridge for a week.

Finally today I felt better and got my baking pants back on. Since the lemon curd used up all of my lemons and I didn't feel like a run to the grocery store I opted to make Lime cupcakes and fill them with the curd. I took the recipe out of Martha Stewart's Cupcake cookbook only changed it around a little (I can't leave anything alone). After tasting the lemon curd with the cake I decided I would need a frosting that was light and sweet to cut through all the tartness. So I went with my classic Vanilla Buttercream that I adore. Seriously, if I could bath in that Vanilla Buttercream I would.

I must say they turned out great. Moist, but not sticky. Tart, and dare I say bright? The lime flavor gets lost a little with the lemon curd, but I didn't mind that much. And the buttercream did exactly what I wanted, it gives just enough sweetness so the lemon curd doesn't become over powering. I think the folks at work would agree that they were great since as soon as I walked in I had four guys swarming around me. This one is going straight into my scrap book where I keep all the 'keeper' recipes.


Here is the cupcake recipe as copied from Martha's website. I will italicize all changes I made to the recipes.

Lime Cupcakes

Makes 24 (I got 32)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
Finely grated zest of 3 limes (about 3 tablespoons)
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Directions

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flours, baking powder, and salt.

-With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk and lime juice, and beating until just combined after each.

-Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

And here is the link to the Lemon Curd recipe which I used verbatim.