Perfect Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

This recipe comes from My Kitchen Cafe via You Got Served who got the recipe from Amy Barker who combined two recipes she got from her friend Nancy (the cake) and the Magnolia Bakery in New York (the frosting). That just shows how a great recipe gets around! The original recipe was made as a cake, but had instructions for cupcakes. I decided to try it in the cupcake form. Let me tell you that this cake recipe was named correctly, these little cupcakes were lemon perfection. The cake is so tender and moist, it was absolutely mouth watering. I loved the frosting, but must warn you it is very full of lemon flavor. If you are shy of really strong lemon flavors you may want to use a regular cream cheese or buttercream frosting. If you are a fan of lemon bars, then you will totally love this cupcake with the lemon frosting! These little morsel would be perfect to finish off your Easter dinner, you could always make it in regular cake form too. I topped mine off with a strawberry cut in half with the stem left on, but any type of berry will work.





Perfect Lemon Cupcakes

Cake:
1 package lemon cake mix
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 small package lemon instant pudding

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Use a strong mixer, this batter is thick. For cupcakes, bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (I was able to get 24 very full cupcakes from the recipe). For regular cake, pour into a greased 9x11 pan or two round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Don't over bake or the cake will be too dry! The toothpick test works to check to see if they're done.
The original recipe said that the cupcakes will fall after they come out of the oven, but this is normal and to just fill up the indentation with more frosting. I didn't have this problem at all!

Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, very soft
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (I added 6 cups total). Use and store at room temperature. (Don't refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)

Garnish with berries, if desired right before serving.