This week I am debuting a new cupcake flavor for your tasting and viewing pleasure! I felt bad last week about snubbing lemon, so I had to bring it into the mix this week! Behold my Lemon Cupcakes with a Coconut Italian Meringue Buttercream! These bright, light, fluffy, lemony, coconutty beauties are just in time to make a star appearance on your dessert table this Sunday!
Spring is in the air! So was winter a few days ago, but hey we have had some 70-degree days here, big whoop if there was a blizzard one day! Hopefully we are done with the blizzards and on to the May flowers from all the rain we are getting! Any who, these cupcakes are springtime in a mouthful! With a subtle lemon flavor, the uber light and fluffy vanilla cupcake provides the perfect base for the even lighter and fluffier coconut Italian meringue buttercream! It’s sooo good. Although, sorry my dietary restriction peeps, these babies are chock full of gluten and dairy… 🙁 , but it’s oh so delicious. 🙂 They make me do my happy dance after each bite! Speaking of dance who is watching “Fosse/Verdon”? If you’re not, you should! And if you’re not making your shopping list right now to make these, you should!
Anyway, sorry for the digression, I do love a good dance flick. I have seen all the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. I even got sent back to school as a kid when I was faking sick and my mom caught me tapping along to Top Hat with Fred, ha! Sorry again for the digression, but these cupcakes make me want to put on my tap shoes (which I do have) and shuffle ball change after each delectable bite!
I used a Russian piping tip for the frosting and they leave a little hole in the center. I like to fill with different things, but these flowers were perfect! You can get edible flowers at Whole Foods, don’t eat em’ though, they aren’t good, just good looking!
I also used pre-packaged toasted coconut flakes to garnish as well. Again, you can pick these up at Whole Foods.
I went with an Italian Meringue Buttercream for these. I usually use a Swiss Meringue, results are similar, light, airy, silky smooth ribbons of goodness! The method is different and the Italian Meringue is the most stable. Either will work here.
So, back to Sunday, cupcakes, lemon, coconut and you. Trust me, these are cupcakes for the people! They will satisfy young and old taste buds alike! They are as delectable as they are beautiful, and you will be making them over and over again and again and again. You get it, they are freakin’ good!
Happy Weekending and Cupcakeing!
Diane
- For the Cupcakes:
- 1⅔ cups cake flower
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup whole milk room temp.
- 3 egg whites room temp
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter – room temp
- ¼ cup plain coconut yogurt (I prefer Coyo) – room temp
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice – about three large lemons
- 1 tbsp. lemon zest
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- For the Italian Meringue Buttercream:
- 5 egg whites
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- ½ tsp. of salt
- ½ tsp. cream of tartar
- 4 sticks unsalted butter cut into pieces and room temp
- 2 to 3 tbsp. of coconut cream from a can
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp. coconut extract (optional)
- Toasted coconut flakes and lemon zest for garnish
- For the Cupcakes:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with liners and second pan with two more liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients and whisk to combine, then set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth about 2 minutes. Slowly add in the sugar and continue to beat for another 3 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the coconut yogurt and beat until combined. Whisk the egg whites until slightly foamy. Add to the butter sugar mixture in three pours. Beat after each addition until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract.
- Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Add the lemon juice and mix. Add half of the milk and combine. It will curdle some, that’s ok. Add another third of the dry and mix. Then add the rest of the milk and combine. Last, add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Stir in the lemon zest. Do not over mix.
- Using an ice-cream scoop or about ⅓ cup, fill each cupcake liner ¾ full. Gently even out tops with offset spatula or knife.
- Bake on middle rack of the oven for 16 to 18 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Add second pan and bake.
- Let cool for 10 minutes in pan on rack. Then remove from pans and allow to cool completely on the rack.
- For the Buttercream:
- Candy thermometer needed
- Add the egg whites to a bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- In a medium saucepan add the sugar and water and fix the thermometer to the side of the pot and touching the sugar water. Heat over medium high to 240 degrees.
- While sugar is heating, whisk the egg whites until foamy then add the cream of tartar and the salt. Continue to whisk until soft peaks start to form. Turn mixer down to stir while the sugar continues to heat.
- Once sugar is at 240 degrees remove from heat and let bubbles subside. Carefully pour in the bowl of the stand mixer while the mixer is running on low. Avoid hitting the side of the bowl and whisk. Once all the sugar is added, turn the mixer up to high and whisk until stiff peaks form. About 10 minutes and the bowl will be cool to the touch. Switch to paddle attachment.
- Add the pieces of butter slowly. The mixture will loosen and then it will curdle. Keep going, it comes together. Mix until smooth buttercream has formed.
- Add the vanilla extract, coconut extract and coconut cream. Mix to combine.
- Add to a large piping bag fitted with tip of choice. I used a Russian tip.
- Garnish with coconut flakes and lemon zest.
- Store cupcakes in the fridge for up to 3 days. Serve at room temp.
- Enjoy!
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