Quick and Easy Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting PLUS a Self-Rising Flour Recipe

I’m coming out of “birthday central” at our house. We have three right in a row (soon to be almost four, because I’m due with another little one in a month), and my daughter was the only one who actually ended up with a “cake”. I made little girly cupcakes for her party. She requested “Pink Lola Frosting” (Charlie and Lola is one of our all-time favorites, so here is a link to a cute Charlie and Lola birthday episode that I highly recommend watching—I dare say I enjoy them just as much, if not more then my kiddos… just a little confession. :) I got this great Mom and Me Cookbook a while back for kids. It is so cute and simple and kids have fun helping because it is so visual. I had to have something to put that “Pink Frosting” on, and this ended up being just as “Quick and Easy” as it boasts to be. :) Better than a cake mix and dare I say, just about as easy. I added just a bit of lemon juice to have it go with the Lemon Frosting I made. Ended up being a tasty little Spring-Time Birthday Cupcake! Wish you could have made it to the party. :)

Lyd’s Tip: It’s easy to make something look fancier with a slice of fruit. Just kind of dresses things up and makes it look special. I would recommend waiting until you are ready to serve though if you are doing a wet fruit like a strawberry- it got a little soggy and wet on the frosting. I also thought the sprinkles would be fun, but by the time I served them, they had bled onto the strawberry and it didn’t look quite so “pretty” but the kids didn’t seem to mind. :)

Quick and Easy Cupcakes (Annabel Karmel, Mom and Me Cookbook)

• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup superfine sugar
• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1 cup self-rising flour (Don’t panic- it’s ok if you don’t have it, just scroll down and I’ve included an easy recipe for self-rising flour.)

Preheat oven to 350. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and beat together until the mixture is smooth and slightly lighter in color.

Line a muffin pan with muffin papers and half-fill each paper with the cupcake batter.

Bake the cakes. You can tell they are done when they have risen up, are golden in color, and spring back into shape when pressed.

Lemon Frosting

(I came across this recipe last summer when I made Lime cupcakes for my sister’s birthday and it is totally my favorite frosting recipe! (As you can see, I subbed Lime for Lemon this time.) It is the first time you actually REALLY want to eat the frosting right off the top- so yummy. Be warned though, it makes a huge batch- I made 24 cupcakes, and I still had almost half a bag left… which isn’t really a problem. :) I made a very creative, yummy fruit dip with it by adding a bit of cream cheese and yogurt, but I think it is best in frosting form.)

• 3/4 - cup Butter, softened
• 6 - cups powdered sugar
• 1/8 - teaspoon salt
• 1 - Tablespoon half and half or milk
• 1 - teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lime peel (I zested 2 times) (I used Lemon zest.)
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice (the juice of 2 limes) (I used Lemon juice.)
• 2 - Tablespoons light corn syrup

In a large bowl, beat 3/4 cup butter at medium speed until creamy.

Gradually add powdered sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt alternately with half & half and 1 teaspoon vanilla, lime peel and juice, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

Stir in corn syrup.

Frost cupcakes. (I scooped all my frosting into a zip-lock bag, got air out and sealed tightly. Then I cut about 1/4 inch off the end and piped icing out in a circle starting on the outside of the cupcake and moving into the center. I garnished with a strawberry slice.

Self Rising Flour (about.com)

For each cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Mix to combine.