Kara mentioned last week that we recently made the desserts for Jen’s Bridal Shower. It was a really nice afternoon–beautiful weather, tasty food, lots of presents, and a Bears victory! Everything was perfect thanks to Jen’s mom and Anthony’s mom. Cheers to you guys! Anthony’s mom told me that she was a regular Live Love Pasta reader, so I wanted to give her a special shout out. Thanks for following us!
For the shower we made 2 types of cupcakes: the Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes and these Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Buttercream Frosting. That way the chocolate AND vanilla lovers were happy! I decided to use the same exact frosting as the Lemon Chiffon Layer Cake because I loved it so much. It was lemony and buttery and nothing short of perfect. I also love that you can see the vanilla bean speckles throughout the frosting! 😉 In addition to the cupcakes we made a bunch of other desserts including Caramel Espresso Bars and Oatmeal Cream Pies.
Unfortunately I did not get a good picture of the sweets table. That was a bummer. This blurry pic was courtesy of my phone. I am not a good photographer whatsoever. Where’s Cliff when you need him? Oh yeah…Bears. But the most important thing was these cupcakes tasted great and the cupcake stand we built held all 70 cupcakes beautifully. And PHEW! It didn’t collapse.
Here’s what you’ll need
Start by measuring the dry ingredients: flour, salt and baking powder
Measure out the milk. And measure the vanilla too
Beat together butter and sugar
Add eggs one at a time
Gradually add the flour mixture
Alternately with the milk
Make sure everything is combined
Once the cupcakes have baked and cooled use a knife to core out a small part of the middle
Fill with some lemon curd
Like so! Wow…I could eat it just like that!
Now frost generously with lemon buttercream frosting.
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Yield: 24 cupcakes
For the Cupcakes
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (we used vanilla bean paste)
1 ¼ cups milk
For Filling
Store bought (or homemade) lemon curd
For the Buttercream Frosting
2 cups butter
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 tablespoon lemon flavoring
1/3 cup cold water (may need more)
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with liners; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in the vanilla.
Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about ¾ full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 18-20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan, and let cool completely on wire rack.
While the cupcakes cool, start on the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add liquids and mix until combined. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar while mixing. At this point you may need to add more liquid. You are trying to achieve a spreadable and fluffy consistency. Whip for several minutes.
When the frosting is made and the cupcakes have cooled completely, use a knife to make a small hole from the center of your cupcake. Fill the hole with lemon curd then frost the cupcakes as desired.
Source: adapted from Martha Stewart; frosting from Apron of Grace
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