Lemon Cream Cupcakes

By draingal

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks unsalted) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour or all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
• 3/4 cup cream cheese, softened
• confectioners' sugar (for dusting)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the muffin tin with cooking spray.
Combine the butter and 1 ¼ cups of the sugar in the large bowl and beat with the mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add the eggs and 3 tbsp of the lemon juice and beat until well combined, scraping down the bowl once or twice as necessary. Mix in the flour, baking powder, salt, and 2 tsp of the lemon zest until just combined.
In the small bowl, mash together the cream cheese, the remaining ¼ cup sugar, the remaining 1 tbsp lemon juice, and the remaining 1 tsp lemon zest until combined.
Spoon about 3 tbsp of the batter into each muffin cup. Place about 1 tbsp of the cream cheese mixture on top of each portion of batter and cover the cheese with some of the remaining batter (the batter should reach three-quarters of the way to the top of each cup). Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning over onto the wire rack to cool completely. Use a strainer to sift the tops with confectioners' sugar before serving if desired.