Vividly Yours,: Lemon Cupcakes for Spring!

Hi Everyone! The other day I was wandering Target, when I came across these adorable star sprinkles in the dollar bin, and since then I had been searching for the perfect recipe to use them. Today's post (just in time for Easter and spring) is for these delicious lemon cupcakes! Lemon is such a fresh and spring like ingredient, I knew it was perfect for this recipe. The perfect balance of tart and sweet, these cupcakes are bound to be the stars in your Easter show ;)

What You Will Need for the Cakes:

Ingredients (Yields about 18 cupcakes):

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)

3 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp lemon zest

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside

3. In a mixer, whip together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Then, with a reduced speed, add in the eggs one at a time.

4. Add in the vanilla, milk and 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice (or as much as you'd like). Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients

5. Mix in the lemon zest carefully

6. Divide into greased cupcake liners and bake for 16-18 minutes

7. To add extra flavor, brush on the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice to the tops of the baked cakes, and let cool

Getting a little egg-cited

This batter did not raise very much in the oven, so if you prefer larger cupcakes you might want to fill the liners up more.

What You Will Need for the Icing:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter (softened)

4 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

3 1/2 Tbsp heavy cream

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

lemon juice to taste

(Yes, this is all butter mmmmm)

Directions:

1. Using an electric mixer, whip together the butter for several minutes until very fluffy and white

2. Add in sugar carefully, heavy cream and vanilla extract

3. Continue mixing until well incorporated and add in lemon juice for added flavor

You can use any technique you like to frost the cupcakes, but I chose to put the icing in an icing bag, cut a large tip and create a spiral. Also, how cute are these copper tins?!

Now for the moment we've all been waiting for...the SPRINKLES! Since these were the inspiration for the whole event I had to include these, but if sprinkles aren't your style, you can leave them with just icing or add a lemon peel accent.