Lemon Cupcakes

The other day, I found that I had a whole bunch of lemons laying around.

So I started with this...

Turned the lemons into this...

made these out of the Lemon Curd...

Lemon Cupcakes!! 



I've had lemon cupcakes before, but never lemon cupcakes filled with homemade lemon curd.  Now, I don't particularly like the word "curd."  It acutally grosses me out some.  But I have to say, these cupcakes are really good.  A little bit like spring... spring is just good. 

{Lemon Cupcakes}

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Recipe yields 42 cupcakes...keep that in mind*

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

1 3/4 {3 1/2 sticks} unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups granulated sugar

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

7 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Lemon Curd {Recipe follows}

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Whisk together flour, zest, baking powder & salt. 

With an electric mixer on medium-high, cream butter and sugar until pale & fluffy.  Beat in cream cheese.  Reduce speed to low.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in lemon juice & vanilla.  Add flour mixture in three batches, beating until just combined after each. 

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 28 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.  Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers. 

To finish, dust cupcakes with confectioners' sugar.  Fill a pastry bag (or ziplock bag) fitted with a medium round tip (#8) with curd.  Poke small hole in top of cupcake, insert tip into hole and squeeze some curd below top to fill the inside, then lift the tip and squeeze more curd in a pool on top.  Filled cupcakes can be kept at room temperature up to 1 hour before serving. 

{Lemon Curd}

Recipe compliments of Martha Stewart

Yields about 2 cups

Ingredients

2 whole eggs plus 8 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice {about 6 lemons}

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature

Combine whole eggs and yolks, sugar & lemon juice in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Remove from heat.  Add butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition.  Strain through a fine sieve into another bowl, and cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap, pressing it directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming.  Refrigerate until chilled and firm, at least 2 hours.