Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling and Raspberry Vanilla Swiss Buttercream

I think these just might be the prettiest cupcakes that I've ever made. Back in the fall, while hanging out with my good friend Tammy we were talking about desserts and she commented that she loves the lemon and raspberry combination. I made a mental note that I should make these for her upcoming birthday and I knew just the recipe that I've been wanting to try for years. Tammy and I had a few class together so I brought these in to share with one of our classes the day before her birthday. I'm pretty sure that she loved them because over the weekend she ate 3 (she took the leftovers home to her adorable sons) which says a lot because I'm pretty sure she has an aversion to butter (haha).

Lemon Cupcakes:

Source: Good Things Catered

Ingredients:
Cake -
2 1/2 c. cake flour
1 3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp meringue powder
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 lemons, zested and juiced separately
2/3 c. milk
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 egg whites, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two cupcake pans.
-In bowl of electric mixer sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, meringue powder, salt, add in the zest of one lemon.
-Stir with mixer to combine, about 30 seconds.
-Add milk, oil, juice from two lemons, beaten egg whites and extract.
-Mix on medium low to combine thoroughly, about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.
-Remove from mixer and stir with silicone spatula to thoroughly combine (making sure there is no flour mixture left unincorporated at the bottom of the bowl.)
-Fill prepared cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean (about 15-20 minutes)
-Remove from oven, let cool 15 minutes in pan and then turn onto wire racks to cool completely.
- When cooled completely fill cupcakes with raspberry filling using the cone method. (I take a knife a cut a small circular hole in the center of the cupcake and fill using a piping bag. Top the cupcake with the cut out and frost as desired.
-I frosted these with Raspberry Vanilla Swiss Buttercream using Wilton's 1M star tip.

Raspberry Filling:
Source: A Kim's Kitchen Original
12 oz frozen raspberries, thawed and drained (reserve 1 T of the juice)
1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1/2 of a lemon
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

Directions:
1. Place all of the ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat over medium low heat, stir frequently.
2. Once the sauce comes to a boil remove from heat and puree in a food processor.
3. Next press through a fine mesh sieve to remove as many of the seeds as possible.
4. Allow to cool completely before filling the cupcakes.
* I had leftover filling, refrigerate in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days. Use leftovers on toast, waffles or pancakes.

Raspberry Vanilla Swiss Buttercream:
adapted from: www.marthastewart.com

Ingredients:

5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 T granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 pound of unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 T raspberry juice
1/2 tsp raspberry extract
1 drop pink icing color (optional)

Directions:

To make the frosting, combine the egg whites, sugar and salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.

Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated. If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more. Stir in the vanilla extract and mix just until incorporated. Tint with gel icing color as desired.

Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

Yield: 5 cups

Meyer Lemon Tart with Lemon Creme

Last week we went to our favorite whole foods (also known as Harry's, and the same whole foods that Alton Brown films Good Eats) and I saw some meyer lemons, and since I have not yet made anything with them before I picked up a few. As we were checking out Dan saw the lemon tart on the front cover of a magazine and told me that I should make one some time. Since I had not yet picked a dessert for Easter, I decided that this tart would be perfect. This is my first time making a tart as well as the first recipe from David Lebovitz, I will doing both again soon. The tart has a strong lemon flavor and is a bit tart if you only use 3/4 c of sugar. I noted to increase the sugar or you could use all Meyer lemons. Meyer lemons are less tart than traditional lemons. Top the tart with lemon creme, it provides a nice balance and reduces some of the tartness.

Lemon Tart: www.davidlebovitz.com
Ingredients:
1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice (I used 4 Meyer lemons and 3 regular lemons)
grated zest of two lemon (one Meyer the other regular)
3/4c to 1 cup sugar (use more if you want it to be less tart)
12 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted, cut into bits
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 baked French Tart crust (11")

Top with Lemon Creme:
1 c heavy cream
1/3 c powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
a pinch of lemon zest

Directions: 1. Whip all of the ingredients together until stiff peaks form.

Preheat the oven to 350F

Directions:
1. In a medium-sized non-reactive saucepan, heat the lemon juice, zest, sugar, and butter. Have a mesh strainer nearby.
2. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and the yolks.
3. When the butter is melted, whisk some of the warm lemon mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly, to warm them. Scrape the warmed eggs back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and almost begins to bubble around the edges.
4. Pour the lemon curd though a strainer directly into the pre-baked tart shell, scraping with a rubber spatula to press it through.
5. Smooth the top of the tart and pop it in the oven for eight minutes, just to set the curd.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing and serving.

The Best Sugar Cookies Ever!

I've tried several different sugar cookie recipe before finally finding one that I love. The original recipe calls for almond extract but I changed it to lemon because of a potential nut allergy. I think the light lemon flavor gives it a little something special. I've tried making them using just vanilla or just lemon and both times they come out a little bland. I've made these as roll out cookies with royal icing, cream cheese icing and chocolate icing, as well as rolling the dough into balls and coating them with colorful sprinkles. A friend of mine liked these so much that she asked me to come to her house to give her a lesson on how to make them. She agreed that these are much easier to make, and is happy that she can now make sugar cookies with her grandson.

Sugar Cookies:
Source: Annie's Eats, my changes are in bold

Ingredients:
1 c butter, softened
1 c powdered sugar, sifted
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp salt
2 ½ c flour, sifted
1/2 cup sprinkles (optional)

Directions:
1. Cream butter.
2. Add powdered sugar.
3. Blend in egg, vanilla, lemon extract, lemon zest, salt and flour.
4. Chill dough until firm, about an hour.
5. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees
6. Prepare workspace with sifted powdered sugar
7. Prepare cookie sheet, I use foil sprayed with Pam for easy clean up.
8. Roll dough to desired thickness, 1/8” to ¼”or use a portion control scoop and roll the dough into a ball.
9. Cut out desired shapes or roll the dough in the sprinkles, and carefully transfer to prepared cookie sheet.
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes be careful not to brown the cookies. (about 15 minutes for the round cookies with sprinkles.)

Yield depends on the shape of the cookie, when I made them round dipped in sprinkles it made 30 cookies.