Meyer Lemon Cranberry Cupcakes

Posted by chockylit in General (Sunday January 3, 2010 at 4:16 pm)
I closed out 2009 with some major procrastination… I am just now getting to this belated post.
I made these cupcakes for a party where I knew there would be an abundance of sweet and chocolatey desserts. I thought the tartness of cranberries and lemon would be a nice counterpoint. That was indeed the case. I saw many adults who would normally not be inclined towards a cupcake struggling with their cupcake paper.
The cranberry filling is fairly tart and very forward. The meyer lemon is secondary to the cranberry but definitely present. The cupcake was all around tart and sweet and pleasant to eat.
Here’s to a cupcake filled 2010!
Tart Cranberry Filling

1 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar

1. Rinse and pick through cranberries.
2. Add to a medium pan with water and sugar. Bring to a boil stirring to dissolve sugar.
3. Let the mixture boil for ten minutes.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
5. Store in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.
Lemon Cupcakes
~28 regular cupcakes / 375 degree oven

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup meyer lemon juice
zest of one meyer lemon

1. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
6. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest, beat to combine.
7. Scoop into cupcake papers about half full.
8. Place cupcakes in the oven and turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
Meyer Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
1-1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese
3-4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon meyer lemon juice
zest of one half meyer lemon

1. Beat butter at medium speed until creamy.
2. Add cream cheese and beat until combined.
3. Sift 3 cups of the powdered sugar into the butter and cream cheese. Add the lemon juice and zest. Beat until combined.
4. Add more sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like. I used 4 cups.
Assemble
1. Fill the cooled cupcakes using the cone method.
2. Frost.
3. Top off with sparkling cranberries (I made a half batch of these) or marshmallow snowpeople.