Building a Better Cupcake

I got mixed reviews from the lemon cupcakes with the lemon mousse filling and white-chocolate cream cheese frosting (from the post below). The filling and the frosting were great, but the cupcakes missed the mark. So what I just got through doing was modifying the wedding cake recipe for 12 cupcakes. It was actually very easy, and the results are much closer to a cupcake version of the wedding cake than I could have hoped!

Wedding Cake Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp orange juice concentrate
1 tbsp vanilla

3 egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar, divided
1/4 cup canola oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with muffin liners.

Sift the dry ingredients together 3 times.

In a separate bowl combine the buttermilk, oj concentrate, and vanilla.

In a stand mixer whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until medium peaks form. Transfer to another bowl.

In the mixer, cream the butter and 2/3 cup sugar. Add the oil followed by the remaining sugar, making sure to scrape down the bowl a few times as necessary. Add the dry ingredients in three additions alternately with the wet in two additions, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Finally, fold in the egg whites in 3 additions using the first fold to lighten the batter.

Fill cupcake cups about 2/3 full, and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. The cupcakes should be beginning to get golden brown all over, and they should pass the toothpick test.



Fill with the mousse from below, top with the frosting, and enjoy! These work much better chilled than the lemon cupcakes, and the lemon flavor is more subdued.