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Delicately Sweet Lemon Cupcakes are capped with a Unique Fresh and Creamy Lemon Mascarpone Frosting. Perfect for those moments when you want to indulge in a light but luscious treat.
A few months from the start of this little corner of the web, these lemon cupcakes were made; that was 7 years ago. Immediately, I was impressed by the turnout but after a few years, I felt indifferent for the images. They say, you eat with your eyes, so making these again with better images gives me confidence to continue to share a delightful recipe.
If you’ve followed my experiences over the years, you may have noticed the improvement in writing, recipe development and certainly the artistry in photography – which happens to be my favorite part of blogging!
There are a few posts from the past I am currently updating whether it be the recipe or the images. You may have noticed a recent change that begun with a brownie post that was definitely good but could be tweaked for better or as I would like to call it, its Best yet! These lemon cupcakes were no different.
The first change started with flour. This time around, I used pastry flour rather than all-purpose. It has a finer texture and a less protein content at 6% as opposed to all-purpose flour at 6-8%. Higher protein can create a drier, chewier texture. Using pastry flour gave the cupcakes a tighter crumb with extra volume and lightness. If pastry flour is not in your pantry, feel free to use all-purpose flour in the same volume.
Aside from the updated images, the frosting was the main component of the recipe to upgrade. During the first few years of blogging, my practice was limited to mostly buttercream or a cream cheese frosting. And while both tastes great, the desire to expand my skill set and use new ingredients came over. One of my newest attempts to make a different type of frosting was made this year and I fell in love. Take a look at this amazing Swiss meringue buttercream, I almost guarantee you’ll never want to go back to American buttercream again!
In this case, there wasn’t a new technical skill performed. Instead I chose to try a new ingredient never worked with before and that’s mascarpone cheese. An ivory-colored, creamy Italian cheese sold in tubs and is commonly used in tiramisu.
American buttercream used in the past lemon cupcakes is undoubtedly buttery and sweet! The downside to this type of frosting is that it can often be quite heavy and cloy. The kind people tend to scrape off a good amount because “it’s too much or too sweet.”
Why use mascarpone cheese?
Mascarpone cheese is quite different. As a frosting, you may want more on a cupcake than anticipated, but of course, this is dependent on what it’s flavored with. One of the first notable traits is its buttery scent and creaminess!
When whipped, air pockets may develop creating a very light and airy frosting. You can see these air pockets in the bitten cupcake shown above. To some, mascarpone cheese will have a more desirable soft or subtle aroma with the slightest bit of tang while maintaining its buttery and creamy characteristic. Note that its tang is practically unrecognizable thus perfect for altering its natural flavor when you want to add a more distinguishable one.
All-in-all, I would make these cupcakes again when I want to indulge in a light treat with a more summery feel. By the way, can you believe I still had the same cupcake liners from 7 years ago?! I was surprised myself!
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Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Mascarpone Frosting
- Author: URBAN BAKES
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 18 cupcakes 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Delicately Sweet Lemon Cupcakes are capped with a Unique Fresh and Creamy Lemon Mascarpone Frosting. Perfect for those moments when you want to indulge in a light but luscious treat.
Ingredients
Scale
LEMON CUPCAKES
- 2 1/2 cups (305 grams) fine pastry flour
- 1 1/3 cups (266 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 1/2 teaspoons (14 grams) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (6 grams) salt
- 3/4 cup (180 grams) buttermilk
- 2/3 cup (160 grams) vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons (30 grams) fresh lemon juice
- 3 large egg whites (105 grams)
- zest of 2 lemons (14 grams)
LEMON MASCARPONE FROSTING
- 2 cups (480 grams) heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (29 grams) powdered sugar
- 8 ounces (226 grams) mascarpone cheese, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon (7 grams)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 18 cupcake wells with cupcake liner; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- In a separate large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix buttermilk, oil, lemon juice, eggs and zest until liquid becomes a homogenous blend, about 1 minute.
- Slowly pour liquid mixture in with the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Avoid overmixing. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into each cupcake liner; about 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20 minutes, rotating pans about halfway through baking. Cupcakes are ready when a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry with just a few crumbs. Allow cupcakes to cool on a wire rack to room temperature before frosting.
- Meanwhile, in a large chilled bowl using an electric mixer, beat heavy cream, powdered sugar and lemon juice until soft peaks begin to form. Add in mascarpone cheese and continue to mix until stiff peaks form.
- In a piping bag fitted with a 1M star tip, fill the bag with frosting and pipe in a circular motion beginning from the edge and working upwards toward the center. As you approach the tip, begin to release pressure and pull straight upward to form a tip. Sprinkle with lemon zest. ENJOY!
Notes
I used Bob’s Red Mill for fine pastry flour. If you do not have fine pastry flour, you may substitute for all-purpose flour.
I used 3 tablespoons Saco buttermilk powder mixed in with 3/4 cup water. Alternatively, you can mix the buttermilk powder in with the dry ingredients and add the water with the liquid ingredients.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: lemon cupcakes, lemon mascarpone frosting, lemon frosting
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