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[donotprint]The combination of raspberries and lemons epitomizes summer in my book. There is sweet simplicity about this flavor duo that just works together to form some seriously stunning desserts.
When I was asked to help bake a few sweet treats for our end of the year luncheon at work, I thought this blend of fruit would be the perfect way to kick off our summer vacation.
I like making cupcakes for functions because they have such a high level of portability. They allow people to grab one and go about their day while savoring something delicious. The tulip cupcake/muffin wrappers I baked them in added a little level of uniqueness to a very delicious cupcake.
People were intrigued my these little yellow paper wrappers and thought I made them myself. I am betting they can be easily replicated with parchment paper, but I picked mine up at the local cake decorating store.
For the cupcakes, I used my favorite cake recipe from Dorie Greenspan and topped them with a big swirl of raspberry buttercream. Beware…this frosting may force you to lick the bowl, spoon, beaters, spatula and maybe even your fingers! Yeah, it’s that good, so don’t say I didn’t warn ya!
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Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes
adapted from Dorie Greenspan | makes approximately 24 cupcakes
For the Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
lemon zest from two lemons
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract
Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cupcake tins by using liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray
To Make The Cake:
1. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
3. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extracts, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Place the batter into the cupcake tins.
4. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean.
Cool on wire rack.
For the Raspberry Buttercream
Ingredients
1/2 cup raspberries (blended into a puree and pushed through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds)
1 stick salted butter – room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
1/2 cup shortening*
1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of raspberry extract*
1 1/2 pounds confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar, 10x)
2-4 tablespoons very cold milk (add until you reach desired consistency)
Directions
1. Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add extracts and raspberry puree and combine well.
2. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk… one tablespoon at a time, combining very well after each addition (mixer on medium-high to high speed) until you reach the desired consistency.
Notes:
*If you don’t have raspberry extract, simply add a little bit more raspberry puree until you reach your preferred level of raspberry flavor. If you add more puree, cut back on the milk.
*If you do not like to use shortening, simply sub in butter. The frosting will not be as structurally sound, but will taste just as delicious.
These were absolutely delicious and a huge hit! Only a couple problems; you don’t specify the size of the lemons you used, so it’s hard to tell how much zest should actually be added; I love zest so I wound up putting in a LOT (two absolutely huge lemons’ worth), and it worked out great. Also, this recipe makes about 2x as much frosting as I needed, and even with 2 lbs of confectioner’s sugar it had to be kept in the fridge so the icing wouldn’t drip. But the frosting is delicious, so I’ll be looking for something else to bake so I can put this icing on top of it. Thanks for the recipe!
I love the look of these! This was the exact combination I was hoping to use for my mini cupcakes! I will be making these for my best friends wedding? How long do the cupcakes stay good for? And I wad hoping you could tell me what type of tip you used:) These look amazing!!
Wow these look delish and your photographs are so gorgeous. I have some strawberries in my freezer and I was wondering if the buttercream could be made with strawberries instead.
I made this raspberry frosting recipe last night and it is soooo awesome! You will not be dissapointed! I have never left a comment on a recipe in my entire life but I felt compelled to come back today and leave a comment because it is that wonderful! I will use this frosting for my sister’s baby shower cupcakes. I’m confident this is the best there is!!!
Dawn–
Thanks so much for commenting! I’m so happy this recipe compelled you to make your first blog comment, I hope your sister’s shower is amazing!
-Jamie
Made these for a baby shower and they were a HUGE hit – I am in LOVE with this frosting – so yummy. I want to inject it into a dark chocolate cupcake and top that with ganache or dark chocolate icing – hmmmm. Just trying to find reasons to make this frosting again and again! Thanks for the recipe!
Can you use butter flavored shortening?
Kayla-
I don’t think I would use butter flavored shortening in this recipe.
-Jamie
I ended up using butter flavored since that is what I had and it turned out great – so yummy!
I made these yesterday for some Easter treats. They were extremely good. I found that the raspberry flavor really came out after the frosting sat on the cupcakes over night. This was not a “quick” recipe so be prepared to take a little time with them, but they are so well worth it. I also backed off the milk in the frosting so that I could add more raspberry pure. Great recipe
What tip do you use to get the frosting like that on the cupcake?
To get that puffy, ‘holding my breath” look with frosting–go to the Cake decorating store and look for plain round tips.
You use the small ones for piping stems on flowers, the middle-sized for lettering on cakes, but the one you want for this is the big one–probably 3/8″ in diameter, or maybe more.
Hold the tip about 1/8″ above the top of the cake, and hold it straight up! Squeeze the bag until the frosting is close to the edge of the cupcake; then lift it up [just barely clear of the frosting] and squeeze again.
To finish, either ‘trail off’ the frosting for that ‘DairyQueen’ look, or just stop squeezing and pull away, then garnish with goodies.
If you haven’t done much piping, practice on a Silpat, so that you can ‘recycle’ the messy ones.
What a fabulous recipe, they turned out so well! I was just wondering if I should refrigerate the cupcakes (frosted) overnight or if I should leave them on the counter in a container?
I tried storing frosting but it didn’t last because my husband ate it..lol
Gina-
That happens a lot around here too! Thanks for visiting!
-Jamie
Your photos are gorgeous! I just made a batch of these today in miniature form for my neighbor girl’s Evening of Elegance at her high school. They turned out beautifully. Thanks for sharing the recipe. :)