"Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate." -- Alan D. Wolfelt
Show your special someone how much you love them this Valentine's Day with these raspberry lemonade cupcakes!
A little bit of freeze-dried raspberry powder packs a punch when flavoring buttercream without adding extra liquid. You can find freeze-dried fruit powders on Amazon or in my case I ordered some from Blueprint.com and they come in all different flavors!
Preheat oven to 325°.
Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl combine 2 cups of sugar with 1 heaping tablespoon of lemon zest and rub together with your fingers until it becomes fragrant. Set aside.
In a large bowl sift together 1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups of cake flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
Reduce speed and add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Add 4 room temperature eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition.
Scrape down the bowl every so often.
Slowly beat in flour mixture, alternating with 1ÂĽ cup of room temperature buttermilk (about 3 batches) just until the batter is smooth.
Fill each cupcake mold about 2/3 full.
Bake for about 19 Minutes- 24 Minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Let the cupcakes cool 10 Minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely.
In a large metal mixing bowl combine 1 cup of sugar and 6 room temperature egg whites, place over simmering water.
Whisk constantly until the sugar melts and the mixture is very thin and warm about 10 Minutes.
Remove bowl from heat and transfer to an electric mixer bowl and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form about 5 Minutes.
Reduce speed to low and continue to beat until cool, about 15 Minutes more.
Meanwhile, place 4 ounces of white chocolate in a bowl over simmering water and stir occasionally until melted.
Set aside to cool.
Cut 4 sticks of soft but cool butter into 1/2 inch pieces, beat into egg whites on low speed. The mixture may curdle before coming together.
Gradually beat in the melted and cooled white chocolate.
Remove half of the frosting into a separate bowl and set aside.
With one half of the batter still in the mixer whisk in 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice until combined.
Remove lemon frosting into a clean bowl and set aside.
Place reserved plain frosting into mixing bowl and whisk in 2 tablespoons of freeze-dried raspberry powder for 2 Minutesor until well combined.
Fit a piping bag with a large star tip, fill one side with lemon frosting and carefully fill the other side with raspberry frosting trying not to mix the two flavors together.
Snip the tip of the piping bag (or ziplock bag if you don't have piping bags) and carefully pipe onto cupcakes in a swirl motion.
Top with sprinkles if desired.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°.
Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl combine 2 cups of sugar with 1 heaping tablespoon of lemon zest and rub together with your fingers until it becomes fragrant. Set aside.
In a large bowl sift together 1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups of cake flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
Reduce speed and add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Add 4 room temperature eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition.
Scrape down the bowl every so often.
Slowly beat in flour mixture, alternating with 1ÂĽ cup of room temperature buttermilk (about 3 batches) just until the batter is smooth.
Fill each cupcake mold about 2/3 full.
Bake for about 19 Minutes- 24 Minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Let the cupcakes cool 10 Minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely.
In a large metal mixing bowl combine 1 cup of sugar and 6 room temperature egg whites, place over simmering water.
Whisk constantly until the sugar melts and the mixture is very thin and warm about 10 Minutes.
Remove bowl from heat and transfer to an electric mixer bowl and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form about 5 Minutes.
Reduce speed to low and continue to beat until cool, about 15 Minutes more.
Meanwhile, place 4 ounces of white chocolate in a bowl over simmering water and stir occasionally until melted.
Set aside to cool.
Cut 4 sticks of soft but cool butter into 1/2 inch pieces, beat into egg whites on low speed. The mixture may curdle before coming together.
Gradually beat in the melted and cooled white chocolate.
Remove half of the frosting into a separate bowl and set aside.
With one half of the batter still in the mixer whisk in 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice until combined.
Remove lemon frosting into a clean bowl and set aside.
Place reserved plain frosting into mixing bowl and whisk in 2 tablespoons of freeze-dried raspberry powder for 2 Minutesor until well combined.
Fit a piping bag with a large star tip, fill one side with lemon frosting and carefully fill the other side with raspberry frosting trying not to mix the two flavors together.
Snip the tip of the piping bag (or ziplock bag if you don't have piping bags) and carefully pipe onto cupcakes in a swirl motion.
Top with sprinkles if desired.