Saturday, October 11, 2008

When Life Gives You Lemons.....

Make Lemon Cupcakes and Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting!!

Awhile ago I was browsing the internet and came across a Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting recipe and I knew I just had to make it; however, I didn't know what the cupcake itself should be!! So I turned to my fellow Daring Bakers who came to my rescue, thank you to everyone for their help and I am definitely going to make all of the suggestions!! I especially have to thank Fran from Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie for the delicious and super easy Lemon-Up Cupcakes!

I learned a very important lesson when making these cupcakes: if you take them out of the oven too soon they deflate!!! When I walked out of the kitchen they were nice and puffy but when I came back in they were all deflated but with enough frosting you couldn't tell! They were still delicious and all of the guys in my office loved them. P.S. Happy Birthday to my officemate!

The recipe calls for 18-23 minutes; however, I took them out at 15 minutes (the box said to!!) so I recommend leaving them in closer to 18 so they don't deflate! Also, the frosting recipe can be halved for these cupcakes - I have the rest in a container in my fridge! O I also cheated and used the bottled lemon juice, I just don't have time to squeeze the lemons, and it worked out great, and I used Fat Free Cream Cheese too!


A little deflated!!




Icing makes them look all better!!!



LEMON UP CUPCAKES
(Source: Apple Peaches Pumpkin Pie )

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 box Butter Recipe Golden Cake Mix
- 1 stick of Butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 box lemon instant pudding
- 1/4 c fresh lemon juice
- zest from 1 lemon


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake mix according to directions on box, adding the pudding and substituting the lemon juice for 1/4 c of the water. Beat according to the instructions on the box. Batter will be thick. Scoop into 24 cupcakes. (I use an ice cream scoop.)
Bake 18-23 minutes until light golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.


LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
(Source: Allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest (About 1 lemon)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Beat cream cheese, butter, lemon juice, lemon rind, and vanilla together until smooth and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar in 2 additions. Beat until creamy. Add more icing sugar or juice as needed for easy spreading. Makes about 3 2/3 cups.

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