Limoncello Cupcakes

Remember how I made lemon curd?

Well, remember how I ate store-bought lemon curd in front of you?  Then I made some of my own.  Then I made a lot more.  You can thank this recipe for that.

As soon as I saw this recipe, I drooled.  Literally, I had to wipe the corner of my mouth because I had left it dangling wide open in front of the computer.  It started when I tried to be super organized and get some recipe planning done for you.  Obviously, since half of my recipes lately have been posted all on the same day, you might have gathered that organization is not a skill of mine.

I wanted to find some March-y recipes, and started looking for Irish and St. Patty's day-flavored goodies.  On my way to that, I found Limoncello Cupcakes.

So what is a girl with a brand new jar of lemon curd, and a not-so-new bottle of limoncello to do? 

Oh yeah, I baked 'em.

And then, I ate them.  A lot of them.

And now, I'm passing them off to you because I am afraid if I look them anymore, I will turn yellow.  Then explode.



Limoncello Cupcakes
(adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup cream cheese
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tbsp limoncello
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
1 cup Lemon Curd

Limoncello Buttercream
1/2 stick butter
1/2 brick cream cheese
2 tbsp limoncello
2 cups Confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven 350F.

For the cupcakes, combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine the cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, limoncello and milk.  Alternate adding 1/3 of the flour mixture and one egg to the wet mixture.  Mix the batter until there are no lumps.

Pour the batter into 12 lined muffin tins.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

While the cupcakes are baking, combine all of the ingredients for the limoncello buttercream in a bowl and mix until smooth.

When the cupcakes have cooled, scoop out a portion of the center with a melon baller or a small knife.  The hole should be about 1/2" wide and 2/3 of the cupcake deep.  Fill the hole with a dollop of lemon curd.

Top with the limoncello buttercream.



For Limoncello Cake:
Follow the directions for the cake batter, but pour the batter into 2 round cake tins.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Once cool, apply lemon curd to one layer of cake and top with the second layer.  Ice the entire cake with limoncello buttercream.

For Limoncello Whoopie Pies:
Spoon drop the cake batter onto a cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.  Sandwich the icing between two cakes.  Add 1-2 tsp of water to the lemon curd to thin it out a bit, then drizzle it over the top of the whoopie pie.

For Limoncello Cake Roll:
Cover a cookie sheet with a large piece of parchment paper.  Pour the cake batter on top.  Bake for 10-15 minutes.  Immediately following, pick the parchment up off of the sheet and set onto the countertop.  Roll the cake with the parchment so the roll does not stick together.  Allow cake to cool.  Once cooled, carefully unroll the cake and spread on a generous layer of cream cheese frosting.  Carefully re-roll the cake without the parchment paper.  Drizzle the top of the cake roll with the thinned Lemon Curd (see above).



Listening to:   Skrillex - Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites