Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes

A friend of mine has been requesting for me to make him muffins. I knew his birthday was coming up so I was waiting. While I do like muffins and will bake them from time to time, cupcakes are much more birthday-appropriate! So I searched for a happy medium and found one. These lemon poppyseed cupcakes are amazing. The glaze itself I think makes it. I found the recipe from my book "Cupcakes" by Shelly Kaldunski. I replaced the sour cream with greek yogurt because it was all I had and just crossed my fingers, they turned out beautifully!

Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons poppyseeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup sour cream (or nonfat greek yogurt)
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

Directions:

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F. Lightly spray a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, poppyseeds, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, using an electric mixer on high-speed, beat the sugar and the butter together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, lemon zest and lemon extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute. Add the sour cream (or yogurt) and beat until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until golden-brown and a toothpick comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

In a bowl whisk together the confectioners sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth; the glaze should be spreadable. If it seems too thick, whisk in additional lemon juice a few drops at a time; if it seems too thin, whisk in additional sugar one teaspoon at a time. Use right away.

Spoon the glaze over cupcakes (I dipped them) and serve.



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