Wednesday, May 26, 2010

lemon basil cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting

caroline and kristin, this one's for you. i think the tag teaming last week convinced me that i should give food blogging a shot.
these cupcakes, which are adapted from an amazing recipe by vera (my cupcake icon and best friend), are a great conclusion to a barbecue. they are light, tart, refreshing, and also vegan. i used dairy in the frosting, but it could easily be adapted to be vegan as well.

cupcakes:

1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 tsp lemon extract
2 tablespoons lemon zest
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, julienned

preheat oven to 350 F
whisk milk and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside to curdle.
mix together wet ingredients (including sugar), mix together dry ingredients, add wet to dry.
fill tin or liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-22 minutes.
chill before frosting.

frosting:

1/4 cup butter (softened)
1/4 cup cream cheese (softened)
1 1/2- 2 cups confectioners sugar (I prefer a gooier consistency and more tart flavor, but add more for a thicker consistency)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon zest
juice from 1/2 lemon

cream together butter and cream cheese.
whip in sugar at 1/2 cup batches.
mix in vanilla and lemon.

frost, eat, and be merry : )

2 comments:

missvera said...

awwww. i bet theyre so yum.

Rachel said...

Really yummy! I just googled vegan lemon basil cupcakes and I can't believe how well these worked out! I substituted the WW flour for all-purpose to make them a little bit fluffier. And i made the icing out of store-bought icing mixed with lemon juice and zest. What a great recipe, thanks!!!

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