Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes

Time for some cupcakes, Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes, from an excellent book 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson. The recipe uses the creaming method but with egg whites, resulting in a nice light, delicate cupcake. Easy and quick to make and would probably be good for those bite size mini cupcakes that are so popular. This time I made the regular size.

Here's the recipe:

Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350F.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 egg whites
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 lemon oil or lemon extract
1/3 cup buttermilk (I mixed 1/3 cup of milk with 1 tsp. vinegar - it worked fine)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together sugar and butter until well combined. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon zest and lemon essence, beating well. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two ob buttermilk, beating until smooth. Add lemon juice, beating just until smooth.

Scoop batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
(This is a half portion of the original from the Joy of Baking website.)
3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
4 oz. Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup confectioners sugar

In food processor or with hand mixer, mix cream cheese and Mascarpone cheese until smooth.
Add vanilla and confectioners sugar and process until smooth.
Transfer mixture to large mixing bowl.

Then, in bowl of electric mixer, or with hand mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. With a large spatula, gently but quickly fold a little of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream, in two stages. Cover and place the frosting in the refrigerator for an hour or two, or until it is firm enough to spread.