Butter Cupcakes with Lemon Flavor 檸香牛油杯蛋糕

Rezept auf Deutsch - Butter Cupcake mit Zitronenaroma
中文食譜 - 檸香牛油杯蛋糕

Butter Cupcakes with Lemon Flavor 
Ingredients for ~ 12 cupcakes

• ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 lemon
• 1 ½ cups (195 grams) all purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup (60 ml) milk
• Icing sugar for decoration

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 180°C (Gas mark 4). Prepare a drawing paper, and draw your favorite shapes and cut out with a cutter.
• In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together. Grate the lemon zest and set aside.
• In another mixing bowl and using a egg whisk, beat the butter and sugar until light and pale yellow. Then beat in the eggs, one each time, combine well the ingredients for each addition, and follow with the vanilla extract and lemon zest. 
• Start with adding little bit of the flour into the mixture. Mix gently, then alternately add the flour mixture and milk in three additions. Ending with the remaining flour, mix well all the ingredients to form a smooth batter.
• Line the cake molds on the baking tray. With a tablespoon, fill the batter evenly into the molds, or about 70% full. Bake about 18~20 minutes until light golden.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool for a while. Place the drawing paper on the top of the cake and sift a layer of icing sugar. After remove the paper. Look! Your lovely self designed cupcake! This is a pure pleasure : )

Metronomy - This could be Beautiful

Ingredients checklist: Butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon, flour, baking powder, salt, milk and icing sugar. 

Utensils checklist: a measuring cup, a teaspoon, bowls, cake molds, a egg whisk, a spatula, a grater, a sifter and a baking tray.

Design your favorite patterns. If you are lazy, then just make it simple.

Using a grater, peel the lemon's yellow zest.

After the butter and sugar become light and pale yellow, add the eggs one by one.

Alternately, add the flour mixture and milk.

Fill the cake molds evenly, then bake in the oven.

If you are not sure are the cakes well baked. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cakes, if there are no batter stick on the toothpick, then the cakes are done.

Place your designed paper on the cake.

Put the icing sugar into a sift, and sprinkle a layer on the top.

Look! Your custom made cupcake is done!

A smell of lemon flavor, a soft cupcake. It is double enjoyment of taste and sight.

Mini Tips:

When I made this cupcakes, I tried the vanilla beans, vanilla extract and also skipped both. But the results did not make a very big difference. Comparing to the lemon zest, it gave me a nice surprise because it truly gave a  refreshing fragrance to the cakes. Especially when they are fresh from the oven, just tear open the cakes and apparently, the smell of lemon would fill into your nose.  

If you only have salted butter, please take off the ¼ teaspoon of salt. As too much sodium would affect the result of the baking powder.  

If your hometown is humid like Hong Kong, the icing sugar patterns only can last about one day. So... better prepare the topping just before inviting your friends. 

Reference recipe: 

Joy of baking