Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes w/ Buttercream

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These cupcakes were also made for the bridal shower that I co-hosted this past weekend. The bride has been very into lemon cakes recently, and so the co-host and I decided we'd give these a whirl. We used Martha Stewart's lemon cupcake recipe for the base, added our own lemon glaze, followed by raspberry jam, and finished each with a swirl of vanilla buttercream. The frosting is very sweet, but perfectly balanced by the tartness of the lemon flavor. These were a DELICIOUS.


INGREDIENTS
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk

Lemon Glaze
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons sugar

Vanilla Buttercream
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 pound confectioners sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

With an electric mixer of medium speed cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk and lemon juice, beating just until combined. Divide evenly into muffin tins and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven.

While in the oven, make the lemon glaze. If the sugar won't dissolve, microwave the mixture and stir until combined and syrupy. Taste and add more sugar if needed. Poke holes in the cupcakes with a tooth pick and brush the lemon glaze on top of the cupcakes, letting the glaze slowly seep into the cake.

With an electric mixer beat the butter until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Slowly (1/2 cup at a time) add the confectioners sugar, beating until incorporated before adding the next half cup of sugar. After ever 2 additions of sugar, beat on high speed for 10 seconds before returning back to low, and adding more sugar. This process should take about 5 minutes total. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.

Once cupcakes are cooled, spread a thin layer of raspberry jam on top of each cupcake. Pipe buttercream on top of the raspberry layer on each cupcake. Serve and enjoy!