lemon cupcakes

i admit upfront that this photograph probably does not look delicious, but i can say the cupcakes were. the problem with the look of the frosting came from buying my cake decorating kit from IKEA. i did get my money's worth--i was able to frost more beautifully for a while--but on saturday i gave up on the decorative tips and just frosted from the bag, resulting in these pat-of-butter lumps on top of each cupcake. but next time i will invest more, for sure.

anyway, saturday afternoon rolled around and i was ready to bake something. about a week ago a friend gave me a lemon cupcake from trophy, and it was delicious. so lemony. so fluffy. i wanted to recreate the lemony joy for my family. and i happened to have half a dozen lemons in the fridge. how's that for destiny?

i found a recipe, tried a new gluten-free flour mix, and tried another recipe for the frosting. the results: tangy, lemony cupcake goodness.

lemon cupcakes.

* 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising), or 3/4 cup GF flour of your choice

* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

* 1/8 teaspoon salt

* 2 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest (i used more, to taste)

* 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

* 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

* 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (i used more, to taste)

* 2 large eggs

preheat oven to 350° F. and line four 1/2-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk in 2 teaspoons zest.in another bowl with a fork blend butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon juice until smooth. with a wooden spoon beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until smooth. stir butter mixture into flour mixture until batter is combined well.

spoon into cupcake pan. bake until cupcakes spring back, about 12 minutes for mini cupcakes and 18 minutes for regular cupcakes.

cool completely and frost.

lemon buttercream frosting.

* 1 cup butter, softened

* 3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

* 1 lemon, juice and zest of

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional--i didn't want the competing flavors)

* 1/8 teaspoon salt (optional--i didn't miss it)

Mix the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until smooth.

Add the lemon juice and mix until smooth. Add more lemon juice, if desired.

I didn't use the vanilla or salt--it was good.

makes enough for 12 cupcakes.