Lemon meringue pie brings back sweet memories for my mom. Unfortunately, the store-bought kinds don't cut it anymore. They are just too cloyingly sweet and we've gotten spoiled with the real lemon curd treats from my dad's Amish and Mennonite patients. (Their lemon bars are not made of earthly ingredients).
We have talked about making our own lemon curd for the longest time but never got around to it. Finally, the last time I came home my mom and I made a point to try it...plus we were looking for an excuse to go to the farmer's market!
The real secret to these Lemon Drop cupcakes is a bottle of Limoncello lemon liquor.
It tastes just like candy - You'll have to refrain yourself from dumping the whole bottle into the bowl. (Although it's a liquor, the alcohol gets cooked out during the baking process. However if you use it in the frosting, it will not).
A lot of layers of lemon (say that again) go into these cupcakes, but they pair nicely with the fluffiness of the cake and the frosting, so the final product is neither overwhelmingly lemony, nor too sweet.
The structure of a Lemon Drop cupcake is a white cake with some lemon zest and a shot of limoncello, filled with a lemon curd, and topped with a cream cheese frosting that's been hit with a little more limoncello.
The lemon is the star, but the cream cheese is the secret little zinger that adds sharpness and contrast to the other flavors. It is tart, creamy, and undoubtedly DELICIOUS. This is the kind of frosting that makes you want to lick your plate...and the bowl...and the beaters...and search the crevices of the kitchen for any missed droplets. Yeah! It's that yummy.
Lemon Drop Cupcakes:
makes 12-15 cupcakes
recipe adapted from BrownEyedBaker.com
For the cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 ounces (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons limoncello
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
For the lemon curd:
Zest of 2 lemons
½ cup lemon juice
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
For the cream cheese limoncello frosting:
1 unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon limoncello
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1. Prepare the cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the center. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until light and creamy, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the limoncello and beat an additional minute. On low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Divide the batter between 12 muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely.
2. Prepare the lemon curd. In a heavy medium saucepan, stir together the lemon zest, juice and sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and egg yolk. Whisk the lemon mixture into the eggs to temper them. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium heat, whisking constantly until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and let cool completely.
3. Prepare the cream cheese limoncello frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the limoncello and beat for an additional minute. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated and smooth.
4. Assemble the cupcakes. Cut a hole into each cupcake with the large end of a melon baller or the back end of a large pastry tip. Fill each cavity with the lemon curd. Fill a pastry bag with a star tip (I used Wilton 1M) with the cream cheese limoncello frosting and pipe onto each cupcake.
