Ok, I know I said a couple of weeks ago that I was willing to admit that summer was over and I should get on the fall train, and chew chew chew my way to more autumnal based desserts (well, maybe I didn’t use those exact words, but you get the idea 😉 ). However, I’m a big fat liar and had to give another little tip of the hat to the hottest season of the…season (ummm…summer in case you were questioning which season I meant). Unless you want to start embracing the luscious combination of raspberries and lemon as a fall pairing? Anyone? Anyone? No? Well, OK then.
As the leaves start falling from the trees outside your window and part of you is feeling the awe and beauty that is inherently encompassed by this breathtaking time of year and the other part of you (which in my case is my skin) is feeling the weighty sense of melancholy knowing that this fabulous colour display and light show is only a literal cruel trick of nature to lure you in and then WHAM!!!! winter. Stupid winter.
Let’s forget about that for the moment though shall we? (Snow? Wind chill warnings? Lalala, I can’t hear you *Amber childishly running away….she then slips on the first patch of ice of the season and thus looks even sillier 🙁 *). Where was I? Oh, right, so you’re gazing out your window enjoying the beauty but also already feeling nostalgic for the summer. I bring you cupcakes that will allow you to enjoy the best of both worlds! Lemon cupcakes filled with a lemon-raspberry compote topped with a swirled raspberry and lemon cream cheese icing, topped with a raspberry for zazz (or razz? 😉 ). What’s not to love here? Although, full disclosure, I’m a bit biased in that I absolutely love lemons. I eat them straight on a regular basis, much to the chagrin and annoyance of my tooth enamel (the word “tooth” is probably redundant there, do people ever refer to other types of enamel? According to dictionary.com, enamel as relating to teeth is only one very specific meaning of it. Who knew? Probably all of you did because you’re genius’ like that (I mean, you DO read this blog 😉 ), but it was news to me. Can I get a huzzah! for learning something new?). I now try and restrict myself to only eating a small slice or two at a time (aka I eat the lemon slices that they give you with your water in restaurants and thus cement all wait staff’s vision of me as a mildly crazy person).
These cupcakes however, with their delectably delicious zing, allow me to really let my hair down and get my citrus on. I swear I didn’t only love making these for the excuse that it gave me to eat a lot of lemons (What? Once the lemons were all zested and somewhat juiced, there was all that lemon pulp left over that was just going to go to waste. I mean, I love my compost and all that, but was it really deserving of all that lemony goodness? I say no).
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 1/2 cups cake/pastry flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegan butter room temperature (i.e. slightly softened)
- 2 egg replacers
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- zest from 1 lemon
- 12 raspberries for topping (optional)
Raspberry Filling:
- 1 pint raspberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons Lemoncello/ lemon flavoured liqueur or just use lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
Lemon Icing:
- 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese (I used Tofutti)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons vegan butter
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
Raspberry Icing:
- 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese (I used Tofutti)
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon raspberry jam
- 1 teaspoon beet juice (optional – for colour, so you’ll need a bit more icing sugar to compensate for the extra liquid if you do this)
- 1/4 teaspoon raspberry extract (optional)
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups icing sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325F (170C)
- Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- With a mixer on medium speed, add the butter by heaping teaspoonfuls. Add 4-5 teaspoons and mix to incorporate into the flour mixture. Repeat until all the butter has been incorporated. It’s ok if it’s not completely mixed in, you just don’t want any large chunks of butter.
- Add egg replacer one at a time.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, almond milk, vanilla, and lemon extracts and lemon zest. Add this slowly to the rest of the dough mixture. Beat until just incorporated (try not to overmix).
- Divide the batter evenly among your prepared cupcake liners (should be about 3/4 full). Bake about 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely (very important to cool completely before adding the filling as the cupcakes will likely fall apart when you cut into them if they’re too warm).
- While they’re cooling make the raspberry compote filling and lemon and raspberry icings.
- Raspberry filling – combine raspberries, sugar, Lemoncello and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Once the raspberries fall apart and the sauce is thickened, remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Lemon icing – in a small bowl, blend all the ingredients together using an electric mixer.
- Raspberry icing – in a separate small bowl, blend all the ingredients together using an electric mixer.
- Once cupcakes are fully cooled, using a teaspoon (or bread knife), carefully cut a circle into the top of the cupcake and scoop out some of the cake so that you have a well in the center. Fill with the raspberry filling and replace the “cap” carefully on top.
- To get the “swirled” icing look, take a piping bag fitted with a star tip and spoon the lemon icing into one side of the bag and carefully spoon the raspberry icing on the other side of the bag. As you pipe the icing onto your cupcakes the colours will swirl together it’s a little hard to tell in these photos, and it’s a pretty subtle look. Feel free to just ice half your cupcakes with one type of icing and the other half with the other type of icing). Top with a fresh raspberry.
- Store in the refrigerator.
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