Lemon Cupcakes

Score one for another not-so-fab photo. ::le sigh::

Anyway, I made these cupcakes from a cake recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook my mom sent me. I've been on a bit of a lemon/citrus kick lately and these just called to me. The cake part is a smidge dry and the cream cheese frosting not as lemon-y as I wanted (difficult to please, much? no?) but the cupcakes disappeared from the party almost as quickly as the easy cheese danishes, so...

One note: at one point the batter will look like your eggs curdled in it. Yipes! If I hadn't known about this from Ina's coconut cake recipe, I probably would have cried and tossed it out to start over. Don't! It'll thicken up properly after you add the flour mixture.

One more note: I modified the recipe into cupcakes, the original cake recipe is what appears here. I can't really vouch for anything related to the lemon curd or layering, just FYI.

Triple-Layer Lemon Cake
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 cup lemon curd
Cream cheese frosting

1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and lightly flour three 9x1 1/2 inch round cake pans. (Alternatively, place paper liners in cupcake pans.) In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, lemon peel and lemon juice; beat until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk/sour milk to egg mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until just combined. (Easiest way to do this? Add half the flour mixture, then all the buttermilk/sour milk, and finish with rest of flour mixture.) Pour into prepared pans.

3. Bake in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans. Cool thoroughly on racks.

4. To assemble, place a cake layer on a cake plate. Spread half of the lemon curd. Top with the second cake layer, spread with remaining lemon curd. Top with the third cake layer. Frost top and sides with cream cheese frosting. Cover and store in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.