Monday, January 4, 2010

January CUPKINS: Light Lemon Cupcakes

... now don't get confused.  By "light" I do not mean "healthy" or "low calorie" I simply mean "delicate" ... ha!  This actually means you'll want to eat MORE of them, because they're so light and sweet.  YUM!



A new year is a fresh start for us all, and while our attitudes may be bright - the weather may not be.  We've been blessed with sunshine the past few days here in Michigan, but not warmth.  It is bitterly cold!  January always gets me daydreaming about tropical vacations and laying on the beach with a fruity adult beverage in my hand!

These lemon cupcakes are delicious, and not overly filling.  With a light lemon flavor they're sure to perk you up amidst the grey winter weather!



Light Lemon Cupcakes*

Ingredients:  1 box of yellow cake mix, 1 cup buttermilk, 1/4 cup veg. oil, 4 eggs, 1 tsp grated lemon peel, 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice.




Combine cake mix, buttermilk, eggs, and oil in a mixer on low speed.  Mix until combined.  Add lemon juice and lemon peel.  Beat well.

Prepare cupcake tin lined with (extra cute) cupcake liners (thanks, Alison!)



Oh wait - what's that red thing in the background?



Check out that beautiful cupcake holder Santa brought me for Christmas!  That Santa I tell you... he's smart.  You'll be seeing that again soon, that's for sure.  But I digress...

Fill your cupcake liners 3/4 full.



And bake at 350 degrees for about 16 minutes.  Hey look!  Santa also got me those tiered cooling racks I wanted!  Sweet!



Quick Lemon Frosting*

Ingredients:  1 container (16oz) marshmallow fluff, 3 sticks unsalted butter, 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 cup powdered sugar.



Whisk marshmallow fluff for about 1 minute, then add butter about a tbsp at a time, until smooth.  Beat in lemon.  Add powdered sugar gradually and beat until fluffy.

Frost those babies up, adding some yellow sugar sparkles if you wish... then enjoy!



Now hop on over to Meg's place to see her Pineapple Orange Sunrise Muffins.  Yum!

And for more about the CUPKINS collaboration... head HERE.  Happy baking!




* Recipes adapted from the wonderful book Hello, Cupcake!

10 comments:

LollyChops said...

That Santa is a great fella for bringing you that sweet cupcake holder!

Ron does like lemon anything so I'll have to add this to our to try list!

HUGS again sweet friend!

MoonNStarMommy said...

Love it!! I'll have to try it!! The cupcake holder is so cute & I have the same cooling rack! Love it! Visiting from SITS :D

Meg@MegaCrafty said...

Oooh that frosting looks so good! Can you just mail me a spoon of that! Please!

Jenn said...

Yay for cooling racks! I don't know how I would make it through the holiday season without them!

Brandi said...

These look so lovely!! Cupcakes make me happy. And even though I bake many things from scratch, I still use box mixes to make cupcakes sometimes. The ones with the pretty colors in them are my favorite.

Joanne said...

Yes I looooove the stackable cooling racks! They are saving me so much room! And, don't tell anyone, but I PREFER using a box mix as a base for cupcakes... so much quicker! :)

Michelle said...

These look yummy! Thanks for stopping by my blog. :)

Caroline said...

I love cupcakes!! These look amazing--I will have to try them out!

p.s. any cupcake that is actually "light" as in "low-fat" can't be any good. I like the "light" as in delicate SOOOO much better!

rachel said...

Okay...spill your secret of filling those cupcake wrappers with NO MESS whatsoever on your pan (or even the sides of the wrappers!!). I MUST KNOW...I make the biggest mess when filling my liners.

Joanne said...

Use EITHER a ziploc bag with the end cut off, filled with frosting and pipe it in. OR, use a TRIGGER ice cream scoop. No mess! :)