Lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting

I was in the mood for a light and fluffy lemon cupcake. Maybe it's because it snowed last week and I'm already wishing for spring. These little cupcakes will certainly put you in a springy mood! Feel free to frost or decorate them however you'd like. I piped the frosting with a Wilton 2D tip and then put some sprinkles on top. I like these sprinkles because I actually know what all the ingredients are that are in them. They looked very "natural" - weren't really bright but I thought were pretty with the light colors of the cupcake and frosting. I think they would pop a bit more with some chocolate frosting.

"Golden Vanilla Cupcakes" (Lemony Vanilla variation), recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World

Ingredients:

1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbs cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almnod extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 Tbs finely grated lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. Whisk the soy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside a few minutes to get good and curdled.

3. Beat together the soy milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla and other extracts (and lemon zest). Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix until no large lumps remain.

4. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20 to 22 minutes till done. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.


"Lemon Buttercream" - makes about enough to pipe frost 9 cupcakes or spread on all 12

1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup Earth Balance, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small bowl, cream the shortening and Earth Balance until well combined. Add the confectioners sugar in roughly 1/2 cup additions. After each addition of sugar add a splash of lemon juice and beat well with a handheld mixer. Add vanilla and beat for another 3-5 minutes until smooth, creamy and fluffy. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. I added about 2 tsp almond milk as mine wasn't that fluffy.

This cake plate is a beautiful piece my mother in law gave us! Perfect for cupcakes!