This lemonbar cupcake was made as a farewell cupcake to my sisters, when I left the province and moved to the coast. I tried to get a nice almond buttery cupcake on the bottom, filled with the tasty lemon curd, and topped with a light icing. I think I nailed it, personally. I ended up making lemonbar cupcakes again for a small ladies gathering my mom was having. They were a hit there too.
THIS LINK shows how I fill inside cupcakes. I find that I get a lot more filling in vs shoving a piping tip into a cupcake. I like to use Fluffy Pudding Icing, with vanilla pudding and a splash of almond extract and lemon extract. I also made the lemon filling the night before to cut down on work load.
Update
So I came across a recipe for lemon meringue rolls. And while the first photo of them looked delicious, the rolls themselves looked dry and crumbly. But the meringue topping was genius! So I’d like to make these again, using torched meringue on top. With summer coming up, I may take the opportunity to do a batch of lemonbar cupcakes.
Lemon Bar Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcake Batter
Sift into a bowl
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 c 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 2 c granulated/castor sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 c milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
Lemon Curd Filling
- 6 egg yolks
- 2 whole egg
- 1 1/2 c sugar
- 1 c lemon juice
- zest of 4 lemons
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter / 1/2 c butter / 1 stick cut into small cubes
Instructions
The Cupcake Batter
- Prepare a cupcake tin with liners.
- In a mixer, cream butter until smooth.
- Add sugar gradually, beating until fluffy.
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each egg.
- Mix the milk and extract together.
- Add dry ingredients and milk, alternating flour and milk, ending with the milk. Scrape down sides as needed.
- Bake at 350°F for 20-25 min until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before filling.
Lemon Filling
- In a small saucepan (medium heat), whisk together egg yolk and egg until combined.
- Whisk in sugar, lemon juice and zest.
- Continue whisking until creamy and well incorporated, about one minute.
- Whisk constantly, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon (about 8-10 minutes).
- Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the butter, one cube at a time.
- Strain into a bowl, cover surface with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.