Tuesday, August 19, 2014

lemon buttermilk cupcakes with raspberry swiss meringue buttercream

I think I have been overdosing on chocolate lately so I banned myself from baking anything with chocolate for a while (DIE!).

For how long? Well, that remains to be seen.

So no chocolate (DIE!) means I needed to find something that actually appeals to my tastebuds.

THINK.
THINK.
THINK.

This is a bit like going cold turkey.

TRYING NOT TO PANIC.
In the end, I figured that it had to be something citrusy. I love anything that is slightly sour. So I looked around and chanced upon this book that I had bought (but never tried any of the recipes) and there was this recipe for a lemon and buttermilk cupcake.
That sounded pretty good! So I decided to make these cupcakes.

To start, I creamed together butter and sugar.
Once this had turned light and fluffy, the egg whites were added, one at a time, and mixed.
You will need to scrape with a spatula to make sure everything had been incorporated.

I added the lemon extract.
And the lemon zest.
And mixed.

The flour mixture and the buttermilk were added in the sequence flour-buttermilk-flour.
The last ingredient to be added was the lemon juice. FRESHLY SQUEEZED, please!
Once everything was well-mixed, the batter was transferred into cupcake liners, and baked.
They were cooled in the baking trays for about 10 minutes before I transferred them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
I used a Raspberry Swiss Meringue buttercream (SMBC) to frost these cupcakes. I did this by making the SMBC, then added raspberry puree into the SMBC.
I have included the recipe for the Raspberry Swiss Meringue buttercream below, but for a step-by-step pictorial guide on how to make SMBC, see here.
I frosted the cupcakes with a Wilton 1M tip.
And topped the cupcakes with Raspberry sanding sugar and little hearts quins.
I loved these cupcakes because of the lemon flavour which you get from the freshly squeezed lemon juice.

In addition to that, there is also a slight tangy taste from the buttermilk.
Surprising, Aden and Jadelyn loved this cupcake. They each had one and asked for more!!
Wonders never cease!

A CELEBRATORY GIVEAWAY!
To celebrate winning The Best Cooking Blog at in this year's Singapore Blog Awards, I am giving away a set of Philips Jaime Oliver Stick Blender. Set includes hand blender, chopper and whisk.

"The new Philips Jamie Oliver hand blender features a strong 650W motor with a simple "on / off" button as well as a turbo button, ensuring that busy families can enjoy fresh, healthy food every night of the week. The compact chopper stands sturdy on any kitchen counter and is useful when chopping smaller quantities of onions, herbs or cheese. Homemade pesto and salsas are also really simple to make and add a completely fresh touch to your meals. It also includes a whisk that attaches easily to your hand blender top. It is useful when preparing fluffy whipped cream and homemade mayonnaise. The innovative ProMix technology represents the ultimate in speed and efficacy, to deliver only the finest and evenly cut results. The 1.0L beaker with lid keeps smoothies and batters fresh and is really useful when preparing homemade sauces, pancake batters or smoothies with your hand blender. If you don't finish the batch in one go, pop on the lid and keep it in the fridge for later. It couldn't be easier!" 

To take part in the giveaway, simply click on the icon below!


RECIPE
Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes (Makes about 10)
Adapted from 125 Best Cupcake recipes by Julie Hasson

Ingredients:
1 cup (125g) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (150g) sugar - I reduced this by 50%
1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 egg whites
2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon lemon oil or lemon extract - I used lemon extract
1/3 cup (80ml) buttermilk (See here for instructions on to make your own buttermilk)
1/4 freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)

Method:
1. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Add lemon extract (or lemon oil) and lemon zest. Mix.
5. Add flour and buttermilk in the sequence flour-buttermilk-flour. Mix until batter is smooth. Scrape bowl occasionally.
6. Add lemon juice. Blend well.
7. Transfer to cupcake liners (3/4 full) and bake at 180°C for 20-22 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the cupcake emerges cleanly.
8. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream (Enough to frost 12-16 cupcakes)
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Note: For step-by-step pictorial instructions on how to make this, see here.

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup raspberry puree

Method: 
1. Combine egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a stand mixer and set the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly and cook until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture reaches 160°C (71°F).
2. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. On high speed, beat the mixture until it holds stiff glossy peaks and has cooled down; about 6 minutes.
3. Switch to the paddle attachment. On medium-low speed, add several tablespoons of butter at a time and beat well after each addition. {Beat on medium-high speed for several minutes if the buttercream is not smooth enough after adding all the butter.}
4. On low speed, add in the vanilla and raspberry puree and beat until smooth; about 2 minutes.

Alternatively you may wish to use this.

Lemon Cream (Makes enough to frost 12-16 cupcakes)
Adapted from 125 Best Cupcake recipes by Julie Hasson

Ingredients:
2/3 cup (160ml) whipping (35%) cream
3 tablespoons icing sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (from about 1/2 a lemon)
1/2 cup lemon curd (See here for recipe)

Method:
1. Whisk cream, icing sugar and lemon zest until stiff peaks form.
2. Gently fold lemon curd into whipped cream.
3. Spread or dollop over cooled cupcakes right before serving.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe.

I am also sharing this post with Cook Your Books hosted by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours.

11 comments:

  1. No chocolate from Diana? That is very strange liao :D But I love these lemony cupcakes. And the frosting is just too beautiful to eat!

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  2. Noooo, don't stop baking with chocolate! T.T

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  3. Diana, I like to have the lemon buttermilk cupcakes you've baked ... without any buttercream or lemon cream (cos I'll DIE) LOL! So, again I will just look at these pretty cupcakes !

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  4. Hi Diana,
    You always make such beautiful cupcakes!
    Thanks for linking with CYB!

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  5. Hi Diana,
    I always love looking at how lovely you piped your meringue cream.
    This one is even prettier with the sweet raspberry pink.
    Congrats for winning The Best Cooking blog awards.
    mui

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Diana
    I'm searching for strawberry flavoured SMBC. Can I substitute 1/3 cup raspberry puree with strawberry puree here? Or can I use jam instead of puree? ;P

    ReplyDelete