Spiced Apple Cake with Brown Butter Buttercream and Caramel
Lemon Curd Elderflower Cupcakes
These lemon curd elderflower cupcakes are a bright, zesty treat! ๐ Created by Sugar & Charm/Eden Passante, everything is made from scratch using Clover Organic Whole Milk and Organic Unsalted Butter.
Ingredients
Lemon Curd:
4 egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp Clover Sonoma Unsalted Butter, cubed
2 tbsp Elderflower liqueur
Lemon Cupcakes:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 cup Clover Sonoma Organic Unsalted Butter, room temp
5 large egg whites
1 1/2 cup Clover Sonoma Organic Whole Milk
3 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting:
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
This recipe is divided into 5 parts: Curd, Cupcakes, Baking Instructions, Frosting, and then Assembly! See below for steps within each.
1
Curd: Fill the bottom of a double broiler (or small saucepan) with water and boil on high heat. Add the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest to the top of the double boiler. Whisk until all of the ingredients are blended. Remove from heat and add in the cubed butter and elderflower. Whisk until everything is combined. Pour into a bowl or jar and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until youโre ready to use.
2
Cupcakes: Beat the butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy. Sift together the dry ingredients. Zest 1 to 2 lemons, then rub the zest with sugar to release the oils. Add in egg whites and beat until mixed. Whisk together liquid ingredients. Alternate the dry and wet ingredients into the butter mixture, beating on low.
3
Baking: Fill cupcake molds 3/4 of the way complete. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. Do not over-bake. Let them cool.
4
Frosting: Fit the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the sugar and the egg whites into a heatproof mixing bowl. Whisk constantly until the mixture is hot, sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are a little frothy. About 5 minutes. It should look like shiny marshmallow cream. This step is very important and you can use a thermometer to check the temperature. It should get to 160 degrees. With the whisk attachment, transfer the egg mixture to a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until cooled and thicker for about 5 minutes. Add in one stick of room temperature butter at a time, beating until smooth. On low speed, add in the extract. If the buttercream curdles or separates, just keep beating on high until it comes back together. You should end up with a shiny, smooth, and absolutely delicious buttercream frosting!
5
Assembly: Remove a small amount in the middle of the cupcake. Fill it with lemon curd. Pipe the frosting over the top, and enjoy!
