Lemon Poundcake Cupcakes

Every Christmas I make it a point to prepare something new for the Noche Buena table. Last year it was a Frozen Brazo de Mercedes cake that was not only delicious, it was downright sinful. This year I was planning to make Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes so I could use up some of the peanut butter which I hoarded at the last SnR sale.

Sadly, I found out that my half-Polish nephew had a peanut allergy so my cupcakes were a big no-no. But I needed to make cupcakes because I already bought these cute Santa cupcake toppers. So on Christmas Eve I checked my pantry and ref to see what I could use. Lo and behold I found several lemons which I had been meaning to use for Lemon Squares. A quick look at my aging cook-notebook revealed a recipe for poundcake. A little tweaking here and there….voila….Lemon Poundcake Cupcakes!!

Lemon Poundcake Cupcakes

3/4 cups butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
grated rind from 2 small lemons
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients to combine then set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well combined. Add the lemon rind and mix well.

Add 1/3 of the flour mix and beat until well combined. Add half of the milk. Follow with 1/3 of the flour. Then add the other half of the milk and the lemon juice. Finish with the last 1/3 of the flour.

Divide the mixture between 15 cupcake molds lined with paper cupcake liners. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool and frost with Lemon Buttercream Frosting and top with cupcake toppers if available.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

1/4 cup butter
1/2 box of powdered sugar
2 tsps. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. milk

In a small mixing bowl, cream the butter on medium speed until light. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat on high until fluffy. Add the lemon juice and milk and beat until frosting is of spreading consistency.