LEMON CUPCAKES!

Hello all; I am so so sorry I haven't really been posting (like at all) but Junior year is pretty rough. However, Ski Week has given me some free time, and so here's a recipe for a DELICIOUS lemon cupcake!! They're honestly my favorite kind to make because they're not too sweet, and they're made with FRESH (and real!) lemons :)

RECIPE:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened, unsalted butter (just let it sit at room temp)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2-3 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
6 tablespoons of lemon juice
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1/2 cup butter, softened at room temp
2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 cups of powdered sugar

Directions (plus some additional commentary):

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line your muffin pan (I used a mini muffin pan because they're SO MUCH CUTER)
2. Beat butter and sugar on medium high speed with a handheld or stand mixer for 2-3 minutes, until creamed. 
3. Gradually add in eggs and vanilla, still on medium high speed for 2 minutes. At this point, everything should be well combined. 
4. In another bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add in portions of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, on LOW speed. 
5. Slowly add in the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice on LOW speed until just barely combined. It's really important not to overmix!!
6. Use a spoon to scoop batter into different cupcake liners. These cupcakes don't rise that much, so you can fill them up almost to the top.
7. In the mean time, make the frosting! Combine all the ingredients in your mixer until everything is well combined, light and fluffy. If you want the frosting to be thicker, add more sugar. If you want it thinner, add more lemon juice or milk! Personally, I like mine really concentrated on the lemon flavor so I did 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. I actually used only 2 cups of powdered sugar because I don't like mine too sweet, but then it's not as thick. It still held its shape on top of the cupcake though:)
8. So, how long you leave them in completely depends on your oven. For me, it took a little more than half an hour. But you SHOULD start checking around 20 minutes, and then in gradual 3 minute increments to ensure the most perfect cupcake. It's ready when: 1) if you lightly press on the top, the cupcake should "spring" or "bounce" back, and 2) upon inserting a toothpick, it should come out almost PERFECTLY clean. A few crumbs are okay, but if it looks wet then it is a no go! 
9. Once you've determined that they're done, take them out. Let them sit in the pan for a few minutes, and then take them out so they can cool.
10. You can frost ONLY WHEN THE CUPCAKES HAVE COOLED. Otherwise, the frosting will melt everywhere and it won't be fun or pretty :(. To pipe, I used a piping bag and a star tip, but you can use a Ziploc bag, or just a knife to spread it on top.
11. And to decorate, I sprinkled some remaining zest on top :) ENJOY! 

Audge