Bake #4: Tina bakes Lemon Cupcakes

I baked regular lemon cupcakes... no Meyer lemons over here!! :)

The lemons I got were going for RM1.09 per piece and I did not know where they came from, unfortunately. Earlier in the week, I saw some Egpytian lemons at RM4.99 per piece but did not want to get them too early before the bake.

I am happy with the lemons as they were very very juicy!! The recipe called for usage of about 8 lemons. I halved the recipe, so I'd need about 4 lemons... but I only had to use 1.5 lemons to get the amount of juice required!!

I started with the lemon curd... and since I had a lot of juice, I was generous with it. Probably not such a bright idea as my curd were very very lemony!! :) But I must tell you that the curd tastes less puckery and sweeter on the second day. Well, any cake always taste better on the second day, to me.. (that is if they last THAT long :))

These cupcakes are really pretty and cheery. I might just make the cakes without the curd, next time - perhaps increase the zest and juice too. They taste pleasantly sweet with a refreshingly zesty twist. I would also not let it brown too long in the oven... these are dense cakes and removing them from the oven just as they are ready allows them to stay softer and fluffier. You may not get the golden effect on the top, though.

And boy!! Does this recipe yield a LOT of cakes!! I got 42 mini cupcakes just by baking 2/3 of my batter (and did I mention I halved the recipe??) Again, timing was right as I had a majlis ilmu (religious knowledge class) to bring them to, last night. I plan to bake the leftover batter for the office.

some of the cakes ready to be shared...

Hey, you're not the only one loving this recipe... good choice, Jen!! :) oh! and Happy New Year to you and all those celebrating!!

Bake#4: Jenny bakes Meyer Lemon Cupcakes

I disclosed earlier the reason why I had picked this for bake number four but truthfully, there's a different reason behind this. A rather selfish one, really. *Grin* No, it's not because I have loads of these wonderful harvest from our tree (aren't they gorgeous though?)

but rather, the thing that drove me to select this week's recipe was simply THIS:


I got these adorably cute glossy paper liners for more than couple years now and just hadn't been inspired to use it on any of my bakes! I've been diligently spring-cleaning last week when I saw these cutesies, pressed against the wall and stuck way toward the back of the shelf, just screaming out "use me, use me, use ME!!!" I swear I could hear that (or was it all in my head?!) Sometimes I'm not certain if I'm hearing my own thoughts or something else.....but that's a different story for another time. Unlike other liners, these are somewhat shorter and wider - they're more suitable for tartlettes, but thanks to my silicon muffin liners, the cupcakes fit (almost) these liners perfectly!

I simply love the lemony pucker of this entire combo. The cupcakes were moist; I used mascarpone cheese instead of cream cheese as I wanted it to be a little richer and less tangy. It wasn't my first time making lemon curd, I've tried various other recipes and this one's quite good, really. I love it so much that I came up with three full jars of lemon curd from the harvest. I think I'm going to set up shop right on our front yard to sell lemonade and lemon curd this weekend! :-) And I could also be selling these cupcakes - the recipe yields enough to feed an army! - but I ended up with less than 5 cupcakes left on my kitchen counter now since I had halved the recipe (hubby took the rest to work), so nothing left to sell!

Lemons. So bright, so yellow, so fragrant.......now, why would a beauty like this have such negative connotation? If life hands us lemons, I'd say rejoice! And make lots and lots of lemon cupcakes!
Am I the only one who's loving this recipe?!? And oh, I added a little something-something on top of my cupcakes. See if you can spot it?!

Bake #4: Meyer Lemon Cupcakes

Photo courtesy of ivillage.com

If you live in the Wintery part of the world right now, you're most probably like me and can't wait to just get over this cold, dreary and sometimes crazily treacherous weather conditions. We Californians are more fortunate this year and I'm counting our blessings for the rather mild winter we've had so far. Nonetheless, I'm so ready for Spring!! It's my favorite season of all. So for this week's FWB, I picked Martha's Meyer Lemon Cupcakes (pages 121 and 317), something bright and cheery. The lemony goodness is sure to perk things up!

Here's the recipe for the cupcakes The cupcakes are filled with Lemon Curd and if you enjoyed last week's pastry cream, I bet you'll love the highly-versatile lemon curd as well! You can even bottle it up and it makes for a great hostess gift or you can use it as filling for your cakes and tartlettes! Note that you'll need to make and chill the Lemon Curd at least couple hours ahead of time.

Here's the recipe for Martha's Lemon Curd (page 317)