Description
Sweet strawberry lemonade cupcakes blend summer’s freshest flavors with delicate citrus notes. Zesty lemon cake layers topped with silky strawberry frosting create pure dessert bliss you cannot resist.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ½ tsps baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 6 tbsps (90 mL) sour cream
- 2 tbsps (30 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, softened
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup strawberry jam
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp strawberry extract
- 1 drop red gel food color (optional)
- 1 batch lemon curd
- Fresh strawberries, for topping
Instructions
- Lemon Curd Preparation: Craft lemon curd ahead of time and refrigerate to enhance flavor complexity and texture stability.
- Oven Initialization: Calibrate oven to 350°F (175°C) and position cupcake liners strategically within muffin tin.
- Butter Creaming: Vigorously blend unsalted butter and granulated sugar until achieving a luminous, ethereal consistency with minimal granular texture.
- Liquid Integration: Seamlessly incorporate egg, vibrant lemon zest, citrus juice, and pure vanilla extract, transforming mixture into a silky-smooth emulsion.
- Dry Ingredient Fusion: Delicately introduce kosher salt and baking powder, ensuring even distribution without excessive agitation.
- Batter Composition: Methodically fold all-purpose flour and sour cream alternately, creating a harmonious batter devoid of flour striations.
- Baking Process: Allocate batter evenly across cupcake liners, filling approximately two-thirds to facilitate optimal rising during thermal transformation.
- Thermal Treatment: Bake for 18-20 minutes, validating doneness through toothpick test – a clean extraction indicates perfect cupcake maturity.
- Cooling Protocol: Briefly rest cupcakes in pan, then transition to wire rack for complete temperature equilibration.
- Frosting Crafting: Whip butter, vanilla extract, strawberry jam, and strawberry extract into a unified, luxurious cream.
- Sweet Enhancement: Incrementally integrate powdered sugar, maintaining continuous motion to achieve a velvety, spreadable consistency.
- Cupcake Modification: Excise cupcake centers delicately, creating cavities for lemon curd infusion.
- Curd Filling: Generously populate core spaces with prepared lemon curd, reinstating removed sections with precision.
- Decorative Frosting: Lavishly adorn cupcakes with strawberry buttercream, sculpting elegant, spiraling peaks.
- Final Embellishment: Crown each cupcake with a pristine, ripe strawberry, elevating both visual allure and gustatory experience.
Notes
- Prepare Lemon Curd Early: Make the lemon curd at least a day ahead to allow flavors to meld and achieve perfect consistency.
- Prevent Overmixing: Gently fold flour and sour cream to maintain a light, tender cupcake texture without developing tough gluten.
- Check Baking Precision: Use an accurate oven thermometer to ensure exact 350°F temperature for consistent baking results.
- Filling Technique Matters: Core cupcakes carefully and fill with lemon curd just before frosting to keep the cake moist and prevent sogginess.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 13
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 22 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 27 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg