Ingredients: |
Ingredients: Lemon Cupcakes: 1 1/2 cups flour, spooned and leveled 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup milk
Blackberry Buttercream: 1 cup butter, softened 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp salt 4 cups confectioners sugar 1/2 cup seedless Blackberry preserves or jam Fresh blackberries
Lemon Curls: 1 lemon 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 6 plastic drinking straws
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Directions: |
Directions:Lemon Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, lemon zest, baking powder and salt; set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, one at a time, then the vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling 1/2 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Blackberry Buttercream: In a bowl of a stand mixer on low with paddle attachment or with an electric mixer on medium/high, beat butter until starting to smooth out, then add vanilla & salt, continue blending until smooth and creamy. Add confectioners sugar, 1 cup at a time, and continue blending until it is all incorporated. Add blackberry jam and blend for up to 10 minutes. Carefully open up your lemon, make more cuts through the fruit so that is will lay flat(ish). Use your fillet knife to carefully remove the fruit from the peel. Your peel should lay pretty flat now. Use your fillet knife to carefully remove all of the white membrane from the inside of the peel. Now, cut the peel into strips about 1/8" wide. Now, make your simple syrup by bringing 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water to a simmer in a small sauce pan, over medium heat. Add in your peels, and gently simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, carefully remove the peels from the simple syrup with a fork and lay across a cooling rack. Let them cool slightly, then gently wrap each peel around a 2-3 inch piece of a plastic straw. Make sure that each curl is separated slightly, so that it does not stick to itself. Let your curls dry 8-12 hours, or overnight. |