Cupcake Roses for Mom! :)



Happy Mother's Day to all you, hardworking Moms, everywhere in the world! I hope your family is sweet to you on this very special day, as you deserve it!!! Here is my greeting to you- some cupcake roses to brighten up and sweeten up your day! :)

Lemon CupcakesIngredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

zest of one large lemon

freshly squeezed juice from one large lemon

2-3 drops of lemon essential oil

1/2 cup milk

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tins with paper liners (for cupcakes). This recipe makes about 30 standard size cupcakes.

 

In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

 

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until thick and creamy (about 2 minutes).

Blend oil and sour cream. Add vanilla and lemon extracts, lemon zest,  lemon juice, and lemon essential oil. Mix to incorporate.

 

Add flour and milk, alternating- starting and finishing with flour.

Pour in muffin tins, filling each cupcake about 2/3 of the way. Bake 18-20 minutes or until they test done. Fill with Perfect Lemon Curd and frost with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting (recipes below).

Perfect Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (it took me about 5-6 small lemons!)

1 tbsp. grated lemon zest

 

Directions:

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Mixture may look a little curdled at first but that's okay, it will smooth our later, I promise you. :) Finally, add lemon juice and zest and mix in to incorporate.

 

Using a double boiler, bring water in the bottom container to a gentle boil, and add mixture to the top container while stirring frequently in the beginning and almost constantly towards the end. Keep stirring over medium to medium-low heat until mixture thickens enough to hold marks from whisk, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Cool. Fill your cupcakes with about 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of lemon curd per cupcake. This recipe is enough to fill about 30 cupcakes and can be made up to a week in advance and refrigerated until ready to use (big bonus for me!).



 

Recipe for Perfect Lemon Curd adapted from: allrecipes.com

Lemon Cream Cheese FrostingIngredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
3 to 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon extract
2-3 drops of lemon essential oil (optional)
3-4 tsp heavy whipping cream (or more, if you prefer a thinner consistency)
a few drops of yellow food coloring, if desired

Directions: In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat butter and cream cheese at medium/high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Gradually add powdered sugar, covering your mixer with the shield attachment or a kitchen towel to avoid a cloud of powdered sugar all over your kitchen. :) Beat until well incorporated. Add lemon extract and essential oil and beat again for another minute or so. Finally, mix in whipping cream, one teaspoon at a time, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. Add desired food coloring. I used Wilton's gel food colors: Rose (for the pink), Yellow, and some light green for the little leaves. For the roses, start the swirl from the center, working your way outwards. It's really simple but elegant. I hope you make someone very happy with these! :)