Butterscotch Chewy Cake - Vintage Pillsbury Award Winner!

"Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days." 

 

- Doug Larson

I was shopping at our local thrift store and I heard the employees talking. I heard the words, "wow this is old! What is it? Is it a scrap book? It's recipes! This is so cool!" I promptly came over and said, "O.K. what are you talking about, and where is it?"

 

What they were referring to was this book I'll call The Scrapbook. It was made from a tailors book that talks about their prices and the clothes they offer. Nowadays it would be a brochure, but this is a full on hard cover book. The owner of this book glued recipes over the pages. There are a few calenders glued to the back page, the first one starts in 1926. Google tells me this recipe from a Pillsbury baking contest dates to 1955. At least thirty years of recipes have been collected in this book, her whole adult life.

 

This recipe is easy to make. You just need a bowl, a whisk and a spoon.

I'm a lover of vintage items. I have my own vintage shop, even. So I was all over this. This book tells a story about the times through food. I started to think about it. My father is 80 years old. He was born in 1933. He was a child during the later years of the making of this book. This book was made by someone who lived during his mothers era.

Right before going in the oven

It was the depression. There was no internet. How did they get recipes? Probably through friends, people at church and passed down from their mothers. Cookbooks, if you could afford them.

Right out of the oven

Newspaper articles and food labels with delicious sounding recipes must have felt like a gift. What a perfectly sensible idea to glue them to the pages of an already existing book! During a depression you do what you gotta do to provide your family with a tasty and hearty meal. A great and timeless lesson in resourcefulness.

 

 

The scrapbook made from a tailors book, I love how art deco it is.

I have a collection of vintage cookbooks myself, but this was more special. More personal. I wanted to cook from it right away.

This is incredible. She used it her whole adult life, 30 years of collecting. There are calenders glued to the back from 1926, and the recipe I used from a label that dates to 1955. 

Loose in the last few pages of the book was a leaflet from Pillsbury, with the recipes of the prize winners from 1955. Turns out Pillsbury has been sponsoring baking contests for 64 years and counting.

The book includes recipes of all kinds

The recipe that caught my eye was this butterscotch chewy cake. I love the flavor of butterscotch and it was easy and quite straightforward. I crossed my fingers that the recipe would still work after all of these years.

There are pictures! It is interesting to me to see what was in fashion.

I'm happy to announce that yes, indeed it did work. It produced exactly what it advertises. A chewy cake. The texture is a cross between a snack cake and a blondie, or a brownie. I enjoyed it alone as a casual snack in the afternoon. But we really devoured it topped with butter pecan ice cream and caramel sauce. A sundae is how this cake shines. The texture stands up to the ice cream and caramel without getting soggy. And since the weather around here has been unseasonably warm, it was a welcome treat.

Even handwritten recipes, waffle cake, sounds good!

The cake is super easy to make. It really just takes a few minutes to throw together. It's just a few basic ingredients, eggs, flour, lots of pecans, etc. - with one exception. Scotch. Scotch whiskey to be specific.

There are even diet tips.

Scotch isn't included in the original recipe, I added it. Here's why. I've made a few different butterscotch desserts in my life, (I'm not talking about artificially flavored butterscotch like those chips) that included it. It really brings home the taste of butterscotch without tasting like alcohol, since it's baked. If you absolutely can't use alcohol you can go ahead and omit it. But I do recommend it for the best flavor.

labels with recipes

While I'm very happy about my new book, I'm also a little sad, that this book isn't in the hands of the family of it's creator. More and more in this digital age I find people don't hold onto things like they used to. I attend garage sales where they are selling their mothers items and not passing them down like previous generations would. With shows on TV like Hoarders, no one wants to be a pack rat. Which part of me totally understands.

Call me sentimental, but I like these little pieces of yesteryear, in a tangible form to hold in my hands and dream about times past.

 

My free range chickens are always looking for a treat. I think they thought I was bringing this outside for them.

 

 

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 Vintage Etched Drinking Glasses, Antique Johnson Bros Plates, English Ironstone Pitcher with Pink Roses, Towle Sterling Silver Spoon, and Baby Pink Cloth Napkins available at my Etsy shop, House of Lucien.

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Butterscotch Chewy Cake

Adapted from the 2nd prize winner of Pillsbury Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest 1955, Mrs. Richard Enloe Atlanta, Georgia

Ingredients

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups (400 g.) packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons butter - melted

1 1/2 cups (190 g.) sifted all purpose flour - sift first then measure

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups (146 g.) chopped pecans

3 Tablespoons Scotch Whiskey (optional, but recommended)

For serving

Ice cream, butter pecan or vanilla or whipped cream - optional

Store bought or homemade Caramel Sauce - optional


Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 4. Grease well a 13 x 9 inch pan, set aside.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add brown sugar, vanilla and melted butter and stir together. In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the egg mixture and stir together well, until incorporated. Add the chopped nuts and the scotch whiskey (if using) and stir again until well blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until it springs back lightly when touched lightly in the center, and until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, I used butter pecan ice cream and store bought caramel sauce for topping and it was marvelous!

The Best Moist and Fluffy White Cupcake Recipe

  

"When the world quiets to the sound of your own breathing, we all want the same things: Comfort, love, and a Peaceful Heart."

 

- Mitch Albom from the book, Have a Little Faith

 

"We all want the same thing." We all want to be recognized, and to be acknowledged. Sort of like the scene in the movie, Avatar, where they say, "I see you." If you're an Oprah fan, (like I am), you may have heard her utter those words.

 

Making the base of the frosting, almost like making a thick pudding.

There's one more thing we all want. A moist cupcake. That's the feedback I get over and over, time and time again. That's the main reason people say they don't like cake. They say, "because it's dry."

The "pudding" getting thick! This is added to whipped butter to make the most luxurious, silky and not too sweet frosting that pipes beautifully! It tastes like ice cream.

Moist cake is sort of my thing. It's the number one most important thing to me in cake. My previous go to white cupcake recipe, called appropriately, My Favorite White Cupcakes, is a fabulously moist and delicious recipe. But I knew while they were super moist, they aren't the most fluffy recipe in the world.

This needs to cool down before adding it to the butter.

I get a lot of comments about my cupcakes, and many people tell me it's their go to white cupcake recipe. But I've also gotten comments from people telling me they wished they were a little fluffier. 

 

 

Beating the egg mixture for the cupcakes - I have free range chickens who produce eggs with bright orange yolks, so if you are using supermarket eggs, just know that your batter and cupcakes will be a more pale yellow and not as bright as mine. FYI.

Ask and you shall receive! I'm so glad I embarked on this journey.  Because the results are worth it. And a journey it's been. Finding a cupcake that's super moist, while being fluffy, with the perfect texture, and a nice rounded top. I've been making these cupcakes (with different variations in the ingredients, to get it right) every day for a week, sometimes twice in one day. I never thought I would say this, but I don't think I can eat, taste, or get near one more cupcake. (For at least a few days anyway.)

Weighing the sour cream - When creating a recipe, I measure out the cup measurement, then I immediately weigh it, for those who live in countries who don't use cup increments like we do here in the U.S. Sometimes I'm asked why 1 cup of sugar is slightly different from one recipe to the next, and this is why. It could weigh slightly different from the last time, depending on the barometric pressure and other environmental factors.

 

These cupcakes are oil based. In general oil based cakes are more moist, since butter has some water content, and oil is pure fat. (There are exceptions to that of course, since My Favorite White Cupcakes are butter based.) The other ingredient that makes cake moist is sour cream, and this recipe is full of it. I always use full fat sour cream, and I recommend you do as well. If you live in a country that doesn't sell sour cream, or if it's not available, you can substitute full fat yogurt or full fat Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt would be the closest substitute to sour cream.

 

 

Making the batter

About the fluffy. I've included cornstarch in this recipe, more than you would normally see in any cake or cupcake recipe. The reasoning behind that is, I don't usually purchase cake flour, if I make a recipe that calls for it, I just use the DIY substitute which is a few tablespoons of cornstarch to one cup of all purpose flour. So I knew it would help in the lightness or fluffiness of the cake. Plus, you know when you eat some really good, melt in your mouth kind of shortbread? It's the cornstarch.

Right out of the oven



Seriously, these cupcakes are so fluffy and super moist at the same time, the texture is amazing!

The third universal desire that we all want?

 

 

A frosting that isn't too sweet.

 

I made these cupcakes many times in the last week (tweaking the recipe here and there.) This batch I used grease proof liners, and I recommend you do too.

Seriously. I used to bake for a cafe. I also sold cakes for a living. When asked what type of frosting do you want, more than anything else, people would respond, "something that isn't too sweet."

It's so important to people, sometimes even more important than the flavor.

I love these liners from Reynolds, (they aren't paying me to say this, I just love them) they are lined with foil and totally greaseproof. You don't need to use this brand, but I would definitely look for liners that are greaseproof for this recipe, since one of the batches I used regular liners and the very bottoms got a little bit oily, it wasn't a big deal, but with these liners it was a non issue.

This frosting fits the bill, not too sweet, and tastes heavenly. What it is, is basically thick homemade vanilla pudding mixed with whipped butter. First you make the pudding portion. It's made with sugar, flour and milk. Flour, in a frosting! You may say, but when you think about it, it needs to get body from something other than powdered sugar, like a typical American buttercream would. And, it's sort of like making a roux for a white sauce. Flour is what thickens it. When making a white sauce, you cook the flour taste out of it. Which is something you do here as well. Just make sure to cook it for the full 3-4 minutes and you won't even know that it's there.

Here's the liners I used along with the little pearls, these liners work great, these didn't get oily either. I've used this brand before and I like them, plus with this type of cupcake liner, you can cook them all at one time, since they stand on their own on a baking sheet, no muffin tin needed.

 

This frosting tastes amazing. And, It's a dream to pipe! It keeps it's shape standing tall and proud on a cupcake. It really got rave reviews with everyone I served it to.

My finished frosting

So this is officially my new favorite white cupcake recipe!

The frosting is sort of beige due to the amount of vanilla extract in the recipe, if you want the frosting to be more white, you'll need to use clear vanilla.



 

There's one more thing that everyone wants. A homemade cupcake! Made with care by the hands of someone who loves them. Who wouldn't want that?

 

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Looking for more awesome cupcake recipes?

 

 The Best Moist Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

 

Really Moist Lemon Cupcakes for Lemon Lovers

 

Pink Velvet Cupcakes (also very moist and delicious!)

 

Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream

 

Irish Coffee Cupcakes

 

Super Moist Red Velvet Cupcakes 

 

My Favorite White Cupcakes (not my favorite white cupcake recipe anymore) BUT these cupcakes are topped with one of my favorite frosting recipes in the world, Swiss Meringue Buttercream, which is also not too sweet and really delicious.  

 

 

From top left - Indiana Milk Glass Cake Stand, Small German Porcelain Cake Stand with Pink Flowers, Fenton Spanish Lace Milk Glass Cake Stand, and Antique Johnson Bros Plates with Pink Roses, available at my Etsy shop, House of Lucien.

Enter coupon code ALCHEMY for 20 percent off of your order! We have lots of great gifts for mothers day and we offer free gift wrapping!




The Best Moist and Fluffy White Cupcake Recipe - with Silky (Not too sweet!) Vanilla Frosting

An original recipe by me, Melissa aka The Alchemist - Feel free to pin, but **Please do not publish this recipe or use my photos, anywhere on the internet, thank you.

**This frosting is sort of beige because of the vanilla extract. If you want the frosting to be  more white in color, you'll need to use clear vanilla, which is always imitation vanilla (since vanilla beans are naturally brown.)

***This recipe can also be used to make a 2 layer 8 or 9 inch cake. Make sure your cake pans are at least 2 inches deep. Grease the pans well, and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment. The cooking times for cake will be 25-35 minutes.


Makes about 25 cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes

1 1/4 cups (296 ml.) vegetable oil

1 3/4 cups (373 g.) white sugar

4 eggs

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract

2 1/4 cups (340 g.) all purpose flour

1/2 cup (68 g.) cornstarch

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups (366 g.) full fat sour cream OR full fat yogurt or full fat Greek yogurt


Ingredients for frosting

1 1/2 cups (322 g.) white sugar

3/4 cups (113 g.) all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 1/4 cups (532 ml.) whole milk

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) (339 g.) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 to 1 1/2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract (depending on your taste) or 1 Tablespoon vanilla and 1/2 tsp almond extract, or another flavoring if desired. Once I added a Tablespoon vanilla and 1 tsp butter pecan extract, for example

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 4. Put oven rack on the bottom third of the oven. In my oven I bake these in the second rack from the bottom. (I found that with this recipe when the cupcakes were baked in the upper racks they got too brown for my liking.)

Start by making the base for the frosting. (It needs to cool down before using, this part of the frosting could also be made a day or 2 ahead.) In a large saucepan on medium heat, whisk together the sugar, flour and salt, and slowly add the milk. Cook, whisking frequently, really almost constantly so it doesn't scorch, until it comes to a boil. Once it starts boiling, turn down the heat to medium low, and cook for 3-4 minutes, whisking constantly, this is to cook the flour taste out. Mixture will be very thick. Remove from heat and add 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Transfer this mixture to another bowl and let cool in the fridge.

Start making the cupcakes.

Line muffin tins with cupcake liners (greaseproof are best) and set aside.

In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the oil and the sugar. Beat them together for 2 minutes or so, so they are mixed well and the sugar has dissolved somewhat. Add the eggs and both extracts and beat again for another 2 or 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and creamy looking.

In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and beat on medium low speed until it's incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the sour cream and beat on medium low speed just until the sour cream is mixed in well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and beat again just for about 20 seconds to make sure it's all mixed well.

With a spoon or a scoop, fill the cupcake liners slightly over half full. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Start checking after 17 minutes.)

Cool on a wire rack. When they have cooled enough to handle, remove from muffin tins and let cool on racks. Let cool completely before frosting cupcakes.

While cupcakes are baking finish making the frosting. Make sure the base in the fridge is completely cool. If it's warm at all, it's going to melt the butter. If it's very cold in the fridge it may very firm. Don't worry, it's fine.

In a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter for 2 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again for another minute or so, until it's nice and light and fluffy. With the mixer going on medium - medium high, gradually add the cooled frosting base, about a "scoop" (a large spoonful) at a time. After each scoop, let it mix until it's fully incorporated. Keep adding and letting it mix together until it's all been used. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for another few minutes until it's super light and fluffy. Taste it and see if you think it needs a little more vanilla extract, or you can add another extract or flavoring at this time.

Frost cupcakes. Refrigerate any leftover frosting. If you aren't serving these right away, keep them refrigerated but let them come to room temperature before serving. If you have refrigerated the frosting, you'll need to beat it again before using. The good thing about this frosting is that it doesn't totally harden in the fridge like a typical buttercream does, (since butter solidifies when cold.)

Happy Baking and I hope that you absolutely love this recipe as much as I do!

Killer Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

 

 

 

 

"Always Do Your Best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret."

 

-Miguel Angel Ruiz

  

 

This is a cake I've been making for many years, I can't believe I hadn't blogged abut it sooner. It's really a home run. It's so moist and full of flavor and texture. An awesome cake overall. And who doesn't like bananas and chocolate?  But this isn't the cake I intended to make for today's post.

 

 

Mixing together the streusel

 

 

I made 2 different carrot cakes. The first cake was good. I made it again to see if I could make it better.  It was good, but not really great. I knew I could do better.

 

These are my frozen bananas. You can use frozen bananas, just make sure you thaw them first and drain off the liquid.

Then I decided to go in a whole new direction and make this killer cake!

 

I tell you about my failures for a few reasons. For one, I want you to know that I really care about the recipes I post here. I only post my best recipes. I don't post recipes that are just o.k. or so so. I like to do my best. One of the greatest little books I've ever read is by Don Miguel Ruiz called The Four Agreements. One of those agreements is, always do your best. That one has always been my favorite and resonated with me the most. I don't want you to make one of my recipes and be disappointed because it wasn't everything I promised.  I know you have better things to do with your time and money spent on the ingredients.

 

 

 

Another reason for me sharing my failures, is that even though I'm a decent cook and baker, I still have days where I feel like my baking sucks and I can't seem to get it right. Which is fine, it's just like anything. Even Leonardo DiCaprio didn't get every acting job he went out on when he first started, (it's said that he went on something like 85 auditions before ever getting hired) that's just life. And sometimes we need to carry on with following our dreams and with what makes us happy despite setbacks in the moment.

The cake before adding the streusel

And one more reason for me telling you this? That's why I don't have recipes posted here as often as I probably should. But hey, we're all different and that's what works for me, for now anyway.

Ready for the oven

   So, back to the cake. This is seriously delicious cake.  So good in fact that I felt the need to add the adjective of "Killer" to it's name. It's moist, it's flavorful, it has streusel on top, and it's a great use of leftover bananas. It's good as a coffee cake during brunch, or for a casual dessert any time of day. This cake really rules, it is my best. So I wanted to share it with you.

Hot cake right out of the oven - This cake makes your house smell seriously amazing.

 

 

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Vintage Old Ivory Syracuse Plates, Copper teapot, Noritake M teacup and Tan damask napkins, available at my Etsy shop, House of Lucien.

Killer Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

Recipe by Me, Melissa aka The Alchemist

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour (208 g.)

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup (183 g.) chocolate chips

1/2 cup (50 g.) chopped walnuts

1/2 cup (96 g.) sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature

1 egg

1 1/3 cups (336 g.) very ripe and mashed bananas about 4 medium bananas - previously frozen is fine, just make sure you drain the water from them first

1/4 cup (59 ml) yogurt or sour cream

2 tsp. vanilla extract


For Streusel Topping

1/4 cup (46 g.) chocolate chips

1/2 cup (78 g.) brown sugar

1/4 cup (24 g.) oats

1/2 cup (69 g.)  flour

1/4 cup (57 g.) (4 Tablespoons) butter, melted

pinch of salt


Topping

A few tablespoons of chocolate chips for topping the streusel


Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, or Gas Mark 4.

Make the streusel. In a medium bowl mix all of the streusel ingredients together except the butter. Add the melted butter and stir together. Set aside.

Prepare an 8 inch square pan by spraying it with non stick spray, set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts, set aside. Beat together (with an electric mixer or stand mixer) the butter and sugar until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg and mix together until incorporated. Beat in the mashed bananas, vanilla extract and yogurt (or sour cream if using.) Add the dry ingredients and stir it in the batter with a spoon until all is incorporated.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle on the streusel topping. Add a few more chocolate chips on top of the streusel, if desired. (I did, just so they would be obvious on top of the cake, so when you see it you know there's chocolate there.) Bake in the preheated oven for about 50 - 65 minutes. Wiggle the cake to check for doneness. If it's still jiggly in the middle, it needs more time. It's done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool cake on a wire rack. I think it's best served warm. When cool, wrap it well. It should keep a few days. It freezes well. Wrap individual portions in plastic wrap, then place in a zip top bag. Defrost portions at room temperature for an hour or 2. Or microwave a piece for 30 seconds or so for an instant treat from the freezer!


I hope you love this recipe like I do! Happy Baking!

Really Moist Lemon Cupcakes for Lemon Lovers

 

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."

 

- Anne Bradstreet  

 

Hi everybody! I'm happy to be back to blogging! I've missed you. And I've missed baking. Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement after I posted an update in January. You guys are the best. I'm happy to say I'm feeling a lot better. And now that I've felt the first sun of spring, I feel positively  invincible and that all things are possible. I think I must run on solar. (I am a California girl after all.)

 

 

 

This recipe is full of lemon zest and juice for lots of fresh lemon flavor.

This is a great recipe to kick off spring. Lemons just scream spring to me, and lemon desserts are great for Easter. And it's almost here! These would be awesome for an Easter gathering.

I love lemon desserts, they are one of my favorites. I like my lemon desserts FULL of lemon. I need my lemon flavor strong. These cupcakes reflect that. The cupcakes themselves have a great straightforward lemon flavor. The buttercream is also full of lemon. This frosting would be great on white cupcakes, or even white chocolate cupcakes, yum!

This recipe is super easy. Basically you just add everything to a pot and stir.

If you are using another flavor of frosting and you like a really strong lemon flavor for the cupcakes, I would even say they could be a bit stronger, so I've added instructions in the recipe to do that.

I like to sprinkle the baking soda and salt to the top of the flour and then stir, so it doesn't end up in one lump. I think it makes them incorporate easier. Of course you could stir the dry ingredients together first, but I don't really think that's necessary in this recipe. And who wants to dirty a bowl if you don't need to? ** Edited to add, you will get the best results if you mix the dry ingredients together first (I've noted this in the recipe.)

On the other hand, if you want the flavor a little more toned down you can always decrease the lemon juice and zest to do that.

This is my finished batter. It's bright yellow/orange because I have my own free range chickens and their yolks are bright orange. I mention this because if you are using supermarket eggs your batter will be much more pale. Just an FYI.

Speaking of zest and juice, these are very important aspects to this recipe. You really do need to use fresh lemon juice and the lemon zest needs to be really fine. The best way to do that is to use a Microplane, this is one of my most favorite kitchen tools. I use it to grate Parmesan cheese and chocolate as well as zesting citrus. It allows you to take off only the top layer of the yellow peel, don't get any white pith into your zest or it will be bitter.

These are the cupcake liners I used and I'm loving them! They are thick and foil lined. So the cupcakes are easy to remove. They are greaseproof and I love that they stay true to their color even after they come out of the oven. They are cheap too! I bought these at Walmart. I will definitely be looking for more of these in the future. (Reynolds isn't paying me anything to say this, I just love them.)

For this recipe I took My Favorite White Cupcakes Recipe and adapted it to make it lemon . The great thing about this recipe is how easy it is. Seriously you really just throw it all into a pot and stir. This is the easiest cupcake recipe I've ever made. Which is great for a beginner, or for children. Or for those who don't like a lot of work, but appreciate a great homemade cupcake. (I fall into the last category.)

Pouring the batter into their liners

Another thing I love about these cupcakes is how moist they are. They really are super moist and tender.

Cupcakes cooling on a rack, these smell so good coming out of the oven!

 

 The buttercream recipe is a standard American buttercream, a butter and powdered sugar base. Which usually doesn't excite me and which most people think is way too sweet. But when you add something tart like lemons to all of that sugar, it really balances out the sweetness and turns this frosting into something special. I could eat this frosting with a spoon, I love it so much. In fact I needed to put the bowl in the sink and rinse it so I would stop licking the bowl.

 

 

Making the buttercream

I fed one of these to my husband (who isn't really a dessert lover) and he really loved it. I sent the rest of the batch to his work and they received rave reviews! Especially from the lemon lovers.

I wish you a happy Easter! I hope these cupcakes bring you and your family as much joy as they did for me!

 

 

 

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Really Moist Lemon Cupcakes for the Lemon Lover

an original recipe by me, Melissa aka The Alchemist

makes about 20 cupcakes, the recipe can easily be doubled if you need more.

Like I mentioned in the post, this recipe has a great lemon flavor and the buttercream also has a strong lemon flavor, I believe they pair very well together as written. But if you are using a different flavored frosting recipe and want the cupcakes to have a really strong lemon flavor, I would increase the lemon juice to 3/4 cup, and decrease the water to 1/4 cup. If you want them with less lemon flavor I would use less zest, about 1 Tablespoon.

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) (228 g.) butter

1/2 cup (4 oz)  (118 ml.) fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup (4 oz) (118 ml) water

1 1/2 cups (300 g.) sugar

2 eggs beaten

1/2 cup (4 oz) (118 ml.) sour cream or plain yogurt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest, lightly packed

2 cups (250 g.) flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, gas mark 4.

In a large saucepan melt the butter with the lemon juice and water on medium high heat. When the butter is melted remove from heat. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the sour cream (or yogurt), beaten eggs, vanilla extract and lemon zest and whisk together. **Edited to add** In a seperate bowl whisk the flour, salt and baking soda together, then whisk the dry ingredients into the batter. The batter will be somewhat thin, you will be able to pour it in the cupcake liners.

Prepare muffin pans with cupcake liners. Pour (or ladle) the batter in a measuring cup with a spout (or a similar vessel with a pouring spout) and pour the batter into the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely before frosting.


Lemon Buttercream

This recipe has a great strong lemon flavor. I think it's perfect as is. It would be great paired with a different flavored cupcake. If you are concerned about the lemon flavor being too strong, I would start off with less zest, (start with half of the amount) and start with half the amount of lemon juice and taste it. You can always increase the zest and juice to your liking.

This recipe makes enough frosting to generously pipe the buttercream on the cupcakes. I had just a bit left over, (you can see from the pictures how much I used on each cupcake.) If you are spreading the frosting on, or if you know you will use much less, I would halve the recipe.

Ingredients

1 lb. (4 sticks) (456 g.) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/2 lbs (652 g.) powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon lightly packed fresh lemon zest finely zested from a microplane

1/3 cup (78 ml.) fresh lemon juice


Directions

Using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer beat the butter well, about 1 minute with a stand mixer, 2 minutes with a hand mixer. Add about half of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, lemon zest and juice, then beat well, but start off on low until the sugar is mixed in, so it doesn't go flying all over the kitchen. Once it is incorporated add the rest of the sugar, (start on low again) then increase to high speed and beat until very fluffy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer, or 5 with a hand mixer. If you want the frosting more stiff, add more sugar, if you want it more loose, add a little milk. Use right away. If you aren't going to use it right away keep it at room temperature until you do, for a few hours anyway. If you aren't going to use it until the next day, refrigerate it. The next day you will first need to bring it to room temperature then beat it again. Refrigerating it will make it hard since it is mostly butter. This frosting freezes well for at least 6 months. Make sure it's wrapped very well so air doesn't get into it. When ready to use, bring it to room temperature and then beat again.


I hope you (and those you serve them to) love these cupcakes as much as I do!!