Homemade Lemon Cupcakes with Berry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Homemade lemon cupcakes are light and fluffy and topped with berry Swiss meringue buttercream. The spring weather is perfect for whipping up a batch!
Course Dessert
Keyword cupcakes, homemade, lemon, lemon cupcakes
Servings 12cupcakes
Author Tasia ~ TwoSugarBugs
Ingredients
1 ½cupscake flourmeasured and then sifted, I prefer Bob's Red Mill Super-Fine Cake Flour
1 ½teaspoonsbaking powder
½teaspoonsalt
½cupunsalted butterroom temperature
½cupgranulated sugar
¼cupbrown sugar
2large egg whites
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
½cupbuttermilkroom temperature
1teaspoonlemon zestabout one lemon
2tablespoonslemon juiceabout one lemon
Berry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
3large egg whites
1cupgranulated sugar
½teaspoonsalt
¾cup1 ½ sticks butter, room temperature*
½teaspoonpure almond extract
1ouncefreeze dried blueberries or raspberries***ground to powder
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F and place cupcake liners in a 12 count muffin pan. Set aside.
Measure the cake flour and then sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, beat the butter and both sugars together on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape up and down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Beat in the egg whites and vanilla and mix until well combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape up and down the sides of the bowl.
With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture and mix until barely combined. With the mixer still on low, add the buttermilk, lemon zest and lemon juice. Once mostly combined, add in the remainder of the flour mixture and mix just until combined. You do not want to over-mix this batter.
Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan. It’s approximately ¼ cup of batter per cupcake. You want the liner filled about ⅔ – ¾ of the way.
Bake for about 15-17 minutes, until a tester comes out mostly clean.
Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
For the Berry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Wipe the bowl and whisk of your stand mixer with vinegar or lemon juice to make sure it is grease free or your egg whites may not stiffen.
Whisk egg whites, sugar and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Whisk and heat mixture over a saucepan of simmering water until hot to touch, sugar is fully dissolved (you should not feel any granules when rubbed between your fingers) and it’s a bit frothy, approximately 3 minutes.
Remove the bowl from the saucepan and wipe the bottom dry. Place on your stand mixer and whisk on medium-high until the mixture is cool and the meringue holds a stiff peak (the bottom of your bowl should also be cooled), approximately 10 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment and reduce the speed to medium. Add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, letting the butter fully incorporate before adding more. ** Once all butter is incorporated, scrape down sides of the bowl and add almond extract and powdered blueberries and whip until a thick, whipped consistency is reached.
Notes
Cupcakes must be completely cooled prior to frosting. I used a Wilton 1M for piping.* Your butter only needs about 1 hour of time (depending on temperature of your kitchen) to get to room temperature. You want the butter still slightly cool to the touch and not overly warm or soft.** At some point your buttercream is going to be a sloppy mess. It may even look curdled. Do not fear, just keep whipping and it will magically come together into a beautiful whipped frosting. If you feel it is too soupy, place the mixture in the refrigerator for 20 minutes and then re-whip.***If using freeze dried raspberries, you will want to sift out the seeds after you have ground the berries to powder. Otherwise your buttercream will not be smooth.