Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I know that many people love to find recipes on the internet, and I do too, but my preference is still a cookbook that I can hold in my hands (ironic, maybe, considering I have a baking blog?).  One of my favorite ways to acquire cookbooks is to look at the reduced cookbooks at Chapters, which is where I found this cookbook.  When I first looked through Bakers Royale, by Naomi Robinson, this recipe for Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes definitely caught my eye.   

 

This recipe uses freeze-dried raspberries in the icing, which I have not used before.  They added an amazing flavor to the icing, and I will definitely use these again.  I have not found them locally, and have bought them online through Amazon.  

You grind up the freeze-dried berries into a fine powder, which is then added to the icing.  But first, let's get those cupcakes made.

 Lemon Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (I needed 2 lemons)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest (I had enough with the zest from one lemon, but would add more next time)

2 large eggs

 

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line one 12 cup muffin tin with baking cups and set aside.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.  In a measuring cup, stir together the buttermilk and lemon juice; set aside.

3.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beating on low speed, starting and ending with the flour mixture, alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture, beating until just combined.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup about 3/4 full.  Bake until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20-22 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

For the Raspberry Buttercream

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 (1.2 ounce/4 g) package freeze-dried raspberries, ground to a fine crumb

3 cups icing sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, plus more if needed

1/4 tsp. salt 

 

For the Topping

Raspberries

In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixture for about 1 minute, or until it is smooth and creamy.  Then add the ground raspberries, and sift the icing sugar.  Add the cream and salt, and beat the buttercream until it's light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  If the frosting is too thick, add a teaspoon of cream at a time to reach a smooth, creamy consistency.

Transfer the buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton 1M tip (or whatever you have) and pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes.  Top each with a fresh raspberry.

I'd love to try making these in miniature for a tea party

 I had some buttercream leftover and have stored that in the freezer.  I was trying to be so good, and then I spotted the beaters...anyone else remember being given a beater "to lick" as a child?  At least I shared one with my hubby ;)

These were delicious and I will definitely be making them again.  The flavor of the buttercream was fabulous!  And the flavor combination is excellent!