pink lemon cupcakes

I am not a fan of great gobs of frosting. So I cut the tops off overly puffed cupcakes – cut a little decor out of the middle, frosted the base and popped the top back on. Still tasty – and it impresses people like you’ve done a lot of work. When really, you haven’t.

(*also check out the these red velvet ones I made for a wedding reception!)

cupcake ingredients
3/4 cups (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups cake flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons lemon zest
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- You will need confectioner’s sugar for dusting, later in the assembly

Pink Lemon frosting
4 cupc confectioners sugar
1/2 cup butter – softened
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice.
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 Tablespoons milk
pink gel tint

pink lemon cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and prep a cupcake pan with liners. I prefer using fresh lemon juice in all my baking. The best way to get juice from a lemon is to press and roll it on a counter. Then the pulp is all mushy and you have plenty of juice. Two lemons oughta do you.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one, beating after each one.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. Here’s a tip, always end with the milk. It makes for a smoother batter.Now mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest.

pink lemon cupcakes

Fill the cupcake liners TO THE TOP. This will insure that your cup runneth over, with is what you want so that you can cut off the tops!!! (You should have filled about 20 cups.) Bake for 17-20 minutes depending on your oven, test with a toothpick, and cool on a wire rack.

pink lemon cupcakes

While the cupcakes are cooling – make the frosting:
With an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter. Add the lemon juice, and the zest until combined. THen add the milk – speed it way up until it becomes light and fluffy, then add two squeezes of the tint and mix til the color settles in.

pink lemon cupcakes
pink lemon cupcakes

Now with the cupcakes cooled, take a serrated knife and gently cut off the fluffy tops, right at the paper. Using a small heart, or any tiny shaped cookie cutter, cut out the center of the tops. Put them aside or put them in your mouth. Dust the tops with confectioner’s sugar.

pink lemon cupcakes

Take your pink frosting and frost the top of the now flat cupcake that you just cut. Then place the nicely dusted open top, right on the top of the frosting. There you go. A simple yet pretty cupcake. And oh so lemon-y too.

pink lemon cupcakes

pink lemon cupcakes

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