Lemon Chocolate Cupcakes

Butchie graciously offered to help me with the bakesale this week! Too kind right! Amidst all the amazing cupcakes we made we ended up with a few extra batters and voila! A chocolate lemon cupcake! As seen on Photograzing. 
A few years ago I had an intern named Mary Kate.  She is almost TOO good of a person and has chosen to spend the next two years of her life as a volunteer for Farm of the Child in Honduras! Simply amazing! I’m not as good of a person so I only baked cupcakes to help pay her way! Lots and lots and lots of cupcakes.  Thankfully, Butchie is also a good person and was kind enough to devote our weekly baking night to helping with me prepare.  [What’s with all the virtue in this paragraph? Somebody go kick a puppy. –B.]

What a night it was! Eight types of cupcake and three types of cookies is a little much for one kitchen table. In the end there were 108 cupcakes left after our taste tests and I never even attempted to get a count on those cookies.  Posts on many of them will be scheduled in the coming weeks.  Hope you like cupcakes! We have a ton of recipes coming for you! And no more cake for a long time after. I never thought there would be a day I was tired of cake, but 100+ cupcakes have changed my mind.

When all was said and done, we had some extra cake batter and thought about cake batter ice cream, so I just did that. Even then, still some batter left: lemon chocolate cupcakes? Yes, please! I must admit this is far more of a Butchie treat. She loves her lemon. [Someday my citrus evangelism will work and you will see the light. –B.] I will admit that I didn’t mind it at all. I’m starting to think that I have overcome my pronounced hatred of lemon. Out of a matter of pride however I won’t fully admit that just yet, and instead stick to the notion that for once (and not yet again) lemon came out wonderfully! [Mark my words, it will happen. --B]

I just want to wish Mary Kate all the best. I’m very happy to have yet another Cherry Tea sale and to help do some good in the world, and to help her help others.  Farm of the Child is getting a fantastic worker.  




Lemon Buttermilk Cake 

1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
3 extra-large eggs
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Beat sugar, butter and lemon peel in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon juice. Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

Set aside cake batter until ready. Make chocolate buttermilk cake. 

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup dutch process cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs

In a large bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.

In 2-cup liquid measuring cup, mix buttermilk and vanilla.

In a stand mixer beat sugar and butter until blended on a low speed then increase speed to high for a few minutes until light and creamy. Reduce speed to low; add eggs, 1 at a time while the mixer continues to run.

Add in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately. Beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Pipe  chocolate cake batter and lemon cake batter into into lined cupcake tins alternately.  Repeat with the remaining batter.  Bake 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.

Top with chocolate lemon buttercream frosting. 




Lemon Chocolate Buttercream

1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp lemon flavoring
a pinch of salt
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
dutch processed cocoa to taste

Whip in a stand mixer using a paddle attachment butter, and flavoring till creamy then whip in powdered sugar in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment.


Enjoy!