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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Oneida silverplated butler's tray and Pretty silver cake server from Italy available at my Etsy shop, House of Lucien. For updates on future coupon codes like House of Lucien on Facebook!


Edited to Add - Some people were having issues with these not rising, this has been fixed! Thank you for all who helped in figuring this out. I've adjusted the recipe to note the changes.


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 (300 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. Let this mixture cool completely before preceding, in the fridge, or room temperature is fine. Just make sure it's not warm. In a separate 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, this is important to the success of the cupcakes, don't fill them half way full, or fuller than 3/4 of the way. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.

Don't open the oven until 18 minutes have passed. Sometimes recipes say to turn the pan half way through cooking time, don't do this here. The reason is because there is so much moisture in this recipe you need that cooking time before opening the oven or else they may fall, and never rise.

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!!

Lemon Cornmeal Cake

"I am - just as you are - a unique, never-to-be-repeated event in this universe. Therefore, I have - just as you have - a unique, never-to-be-repeated role in this world."

-George Sheehan

1918-1993, Cardiologist, Runner, and Writer

I am a lucky girl. If you've read this blog before, you may have read about how I have awesome friends that live in Southern California who have the best Meyer lemon tree in the world. I returned from my visit a few weeks ago with a bunch of those beauties.

My embarrassment of  Meyer Lemon riches

Meyer lemons are a little different than regular lemons. They are sweeter, and juicier. They are a cross between a Mandarin Orange and a lemon.  They don't taste anything like an orange to me. They just taste like a deliciously sweet and super juicy, lemon. To me it's like someone said, "I wish there was a way to make a lemon better. Not as tart, and more juicy." And they fulfilled their dream.

Zesting lemons and measuring the zest - To properly zest lemons, you really need a microplane. You just want to get the outside yellow peel, with no white pith underneath which is bitter. And it's a tool that can be used for so much more. It's one of my favorite kitchen tools and a great 10 dollar investment.

Right now I am super blessed to have a bunch of these lovelies. I use them in so many ways. But when I'm not visiting my friends in California, I am able to get them this time of year in a bag at my local Safeway. But they aren't nearly as good. The taste is mostly the same, and while the supermarket Meyer lemon is jucier than a regular lemon, they aren't at all as juicy as the homegrown variety. I think it's because I pick the lemons myself from the tree and I'm picking them when they're ripe. Farms that sell to grocery stores don't have that luxury.

These Meyer lemons are seriously so juicy, don't these look delicious?

I use these lemons in applications where you would use regular lemons, they do alter the taste slightly, making it sweeter. In this cake, any lemon will do, regular or Meyer.

All of my liquid ingredients, ready to be mixed with the dry

This cake! It's good! I mean it's really good. Super easy, what takes the most time is zesting and juicing the lemons. After that's done, it's really a one bowl cake. You do mix the dry ingredients together and then add the wet, so you do mix the wet stuff together, but you do it in the same measuring cup that you measure the wet ingredients in, which doesn't really count as a bowl. So in my mind, it is a one bowl cake. One bowl and a spoon. You don't even need a mixer.

dry ingredients

The glaze in this cake soaks in the cake which gives it the texture of a pineapple upside down cake, a texture I really like. Moist and tender. The taste is of lemon with a slight cornmeal taste, which is unique and wonderful. The glaze brings it home and helps it read as a cake, as opposed to lemony cornbread.

Just added together

Mixed together - Look at how easy this recipe is!

I like to line my pans with parchment so the cake doesn't stick, then grease it 

Ready for the oven

Right out of the oven - If your cake is looking like it's getting too dark, just put a cookie sheet on top of it while it finishes baking

Poking holes in my cake so it soaks up the glaze

I've been eating gluten free these days for the most part. (To help with migraines.) And I made this cake gluten free. This cake works especially well as gluten free for 2 reasons. It has cornmeal in it as well as flour. So it doesn't rely only on the flour blend for taste and texture. The texture has a nice slightly crunchy way about it from the cornmeal and of course adds flavor. I used gluten free Bisquick in place of the all purpose flour in this recipe, this is really the only change I made. (Beside letting the batter sit for 15 minutes before baking, which is always helpful when using this product, it helps it rise better.)  But any gluten free flour blend would work. I used gluten free Bisquick because I think it works amazing as a gf flour blend. So now that I'm eating gluten free mostly, I keep it on hand.

The second reason it works well as a gluten free cake is that the glaze soaks in the cake, making it extra moist. My biggest problem with a lot of gluten free cakes and cupcakes is how they are especially crummy, and kind of fall apart when you eat them. And you know me. I like my baked goods extra moist. So this cake made gluten free, fixes the crumminess because the glaze holds it together better, as well as making it more moist. It also adds a pop of lemon flavor.  In fact, I think I'm going to create a separate post to list this with the gf changes, as a gluten free lemon cornmeal cake since it was so successful. In fact I couldn't tell the difference between the regular version and the gluten free version, and neither could my husband.

Pouring on the glaze - Don't skip the glaze, it adds flavor and moisture

I just love getting all of these lemons. For baking for sure, I love the flavor. But I also use them everyday. I put lemons in my cold water, and I also drink a hot drink made of hot water, fresh lemon juice, slices of fresh ginger, and honey. I read an article where a nutritionist mentioned that one of her clients lost weight by simply creating this habit, of drinking lemon juice with fresh ginger and hot water. The reason is because it aids digestion.

If I have too many lemons and I think they are going to go bad before I can consume them, I just zest the lemons, juice them and freeze the juice and the zest separately. Then I can use the elements as needed.

After it's been glazed, doesn't that look good? I still had the bottom of the springform pan on the bottom of my cake, so I was able to remove it easily from this plate and take it to my cake plate. (As shown below.)

I love this cake and since I always have lemons handy, it's a recipe I can have in my back pocket to make for guests for tea, or for brunch, or as a snack cake. It's casual, easy to make and tastes great.

I think you're going to love it!

Looking for more lemon recipes?

Really Moist Lemon Cupcakes for Lemon Lovers - These cupcakes are one of my favorites.  Moist, and full of lemon flavor, just like the title says.

Lemon Cream Pudding - This pudding is amazing. It calls for just a few ingredients, it's rich, creamy and full of lemon flavor. In fact, it's going to be the dessert I make next with my current supply of lemons. I make it often, and serve it to company. It's always a hit.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade - If you have a bunch of lemons like I do, make marmalade! Delicious on toast, and if you process and can it in canning jars, it will last a very long time. A nice burst of sunshine when you need it.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies - This recipe comes from Giada De Laurentiis. They are cake like, and soft with a bright lemon flavor. These are some of my favorite cookies.

I wanted to capture how moist and tender this cake is. It has the texture and consistency of pineapple upside down cake. Only it tastes like lemon, with a hint of cornmeal.

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Clear Vintage Glass Cake Stand, Vintage Art Deco Sterling Silver Cake Server, Haviland Limoges Sylvia Dessert Plates with pink roses, and the Haviland Limoges Sylvia teacups with pink roses, available at my Etsy shop, House of Lucien.






Lemon Cornmeal Cake


If you don't have a springform pan, you can use a regular 9 inch cake pan, make sure to grease it well and line the bottom with parchment, then grease the parchment. Only fill the cake pan 2/3 of the way full (Since a regular cake pan doesn't have as high of sides as the springform pan.). You will probably have a little too much batter. For the extra batter you can make cupcakes, or just little cakes by baking them in oven safe ramekins, the small ones will be done much sooner, for a cupcake size about 18-20 minutes. Just make a little extra glaze for the extra cakes.


Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (225 g.) all purpose flour

1/3 cup (53 g.) yellow cornmeal

3/4 cup (150 g.) sugar

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup (4 oz. or  118 ml.) whole milk

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

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon plus 1 tsp. finely grated fresh lemon zest - use a microplane to get it very fine

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup (4 oz. or 118 ml.) neutral cooking oil, such as vegetable oil, or light olive oil (light olive oil has very little flavor, unlike extra virgin olive oil) Use whatever neutral flavored oil you like to use


Glaze

2 cups (250 g.) powdered sugar

2-5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. finely grated fresh lemon zest


Directions

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

Pour the milk into a large measuring cup (2 cup or larger.) Add the lemon juice, stir and let sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease a 9 inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the paper.

 In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda and salt.

If it's been 10 minutes, stir the milk and lemon juice together again. Add the lemon zest, eggs, vanilla and oil to the measuring cup and stir well to break up the egg yolks.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Stir together with a large spoon until it's blended together, don't overmix it. Just stir it enough so it's all incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes. Until it passes a toothpick test and looks done in the center.

While the cake is baking, make the glaze.

Add the lemon zest and a few tablespoons of lemon juice to the powdered sugar and mix together. If it needs more lemon juice add a little more until you get the consistency of a glaze that is thick enough to pour and cover the cake well.

When the cake is done, let it cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen it from the sides. Remove the sides of the springform pan and place it on a plate. Poke holes all over the cake using a skewer, (if you don't have a skewer, a fork will do.) Pour the glaze over the cake. Spread the glaze all around the sides. Go around the cake and spoon up the glaze that has fallen down the sides of the plate, and spoon it back on the sides of the cake so it's all covered well in glaze. Serve immediately or the cake can be stored in an airtight container for about 3 days.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!

Easy No Cook 7 Minute Frosting

"Try to live your life in a way that you will not regret years of useless virtue, and inertia, and timidity. Take up the battle. Take it up! It’s yours. This is your life. This is your world."

 

- Maya Angelou

 

 

This is a frosting I make often. I love it. It's light, and fluffy. And I love marshmallows. And that's basically what this frosting is, is the base of a homemade marshmallow. I usually always have the ingredients too. (I have chickens, so eggs are rarely scarce.) I've even blogged about it, sort of. It's here in my Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting. That version is a cooked version as well as it being broiled, to make a toasty marshmallow frosting.

The frosting is super light and fun and sticky, in a good way. Making the frosting perfect for a Spring or Summer cupcake. It's the opposite of a heavy sugary buttercream that feels like it might weigh you down in hot weather.

This frosting is actually healthy-ish. Sure it has a lot of sugar in it, but as far as frostings go, this one is quite good for you, being it's only basically egg whites and sugar, and it's full of protein. You can even reduce the sugar to make it "not too sweet."

Vintage Ice Blue Jeannette Glass Co. Harp Cake Stand Circa 1950s available at my Etsy Shop, House of Lucien.


This version is a no cook version. This makes it much quicker to whip up than a traditional cooked version, where you would cook it over a water bath before whipping. One of the benefits of the cooked version is the egg whites are cooked. So you aren't serving up raw eggs. I have my own chickens so raw eggs don't scare me. But if they scare you, then use my other cooked version here. I believe raw eggs are probably safe for most people. But if I was feeding a crowd, of people I wasn't familiar with, I would probably use the cooked version. Just to be on the safe side.

Happy Spring!!

I used Wilton's 1M pastry tip to frost these.

Here are some cupcakes that would go great with this frosting:

Moist Banana Cupcakes

Really Moist Lemon Cupcakes for Lemon Lovers - You could use this 7 minute frosting, and broil it like I did with my Sweet Potato Cupcakes, and you would have a lemon meringue cupcake! Yum!

The Best Moist Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Pink Velvet Cupcakes - (These are really just delicious Strawberry Cupcakes)

Moist Apple Cupcakes

Irish Coffee Cupcakes - (The cupcake itself is a coffee flavored cupcake, the whipped cream frosting makes it an Irish Coffee cupcake, this frosting would complement it nicely.)

The Best Moist and Fluffy White Cupcake Recipe

Everyday I feed the birds. I throw birdseed on the ground and in a bird feeder above where these birds are. These guys are new here. I find it fascinating that birds from all around just happen to know where the food is. I love seeing new birds. I guess I'm a bird watcher, although I never contemplated it.

If you didn't already hear, I've started a second Etsy shop! Coco's Kitchen is where I sell vintage cookbooks and vintage kitchen items. I'm adding new items all the time, and I would love it if you checked it out, and favorited my shop, and even spread the word, if that's your kind of thing. Thank you!

The squirrel likes the birdseed too. He's saying, "birdseed?" I thought that was squirrel seed.

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Vintage Fenton Silver Crest 2 Tiered Stand, Vintage Lead Crystal Square Cake Stand, and the Antique Jean Pouyat Limoges Floral Small Plates, available at my Etsy Shop, House of Lucien.

Easy No Cook 7 Minute Frosting

Makes enough to generously frost (like I did in the photos) 12 cupcakes. Recipe can easily be doubled to frost 24 cupcakes or a 2 layer cake.

 Note** This type of frosting doesn't keep well. Frosting your cake or cupcakes and serving them up to 4 hours is best, so plan accordingly.

Ingredients

5 egg whites - room temperature is best, but not necessary

1 cup (207 g.) to 1 1/2 cups (313 g.) sugar (This time I used 1 1/2 cups, but you can use as little as 1 cup if you want a "not too sweet frosting." I wouldn't use any less than 1 cup.

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar - This helps with the stability and volume of meringue, if you don't have this, or can't find it, it's o.k. to leave it out, but I do recommend it, especially if you are new to making a meringue.

 dash of salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract


Directions

Make sure the bowl of your stand mixer is totally clean and void of any sort of grease. If there is any sort of fat in the bowl or on the whisk attachment, it will prevent the meringue from forming.

In the bowl of your clean and dry stand mixer, add all of the ingredients. Use the whisk attachment, and whip, for about 7 - 9 minutes. Beat on medium for 2 minutes, then turn up the mixer to medium high and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 - 7 minutes more. You need to beat it on medium first, if you were to just beat it on high for the entire time the meringue can become dry, so it's best to gradually bring it up to the medium high speed and not just beat it on high the entire time.

For cupcakes, transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the frosting on your cooled cupcakes, or use the frosting to frost a cake and serve immediately or within 4 hours of frosting them.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!

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!




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.

*** Using greaseproof cupcake liners with these is best, so the bottom doesn't get oily.

Edited to add*** 6/12/2014 - I make these all the time and sometimes I make variations. This time I used vanilla beans in the frosting and I really loved it. To do this, cut open 2 vanilla beans (If they are large only use one) and infuse the milk with them by placing the cut open vanilla beans in the milk for a few hours or overnight kept in an airtight container in the fridge. When you are ready to make the frosting, scrape out the seeds and put them in the milk. Discard the pods, (or dry the pods and add them to sugar for vanilla sugar.) Proceed with making the frosting as usual using less vanilla extract, or none at all, depending on your taste.


Makes about 25 cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes

1 1/4 cups (296 ml.) vegetable oil

1 3/4 cups (373 g.) white granulated sugar

4 eggs

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract - If you don't like the taste of almond extract go ahead and omit this, or if you have a nut allergy definitely omit it, you probably don't need to up the vanilla extract since there is a tablespoon of it already

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 granulated 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 just until it's incorporated, don't over beat. 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!