Lightweight lemon cupcakes strike gold

We sought ideas for a homemade dessert for Easter brunch. Cheryl Howard and Elana Clarke thumbed through the recipe box and produced a lemon cupcake like mamma used to make.

Howard and Clarke  --- government workers by day and, more recently, the co-owners of Lele’s Sweet Treats in Germantown --- adapted a lemon cupcake recipe from food blog MyBakingAddiction.com, topping the light cakes with a rich cream cheese frosting. Lemon-infused sugar and the use of egg whites help give the cakes a light taste.

“You feel like you’re biting into air,” Clarke said.

Clarke, who is from Beaufort, S.C., and Howard, who is from Louisiana, grew up around soul food and Southern cooking. “We both have an incredible sweet tooth,” Clark said.

One night, Clark and Howard reminisced about the desserts of their grandmothers and mothers, “the cobblers, the pound cakes, the cheese cakes,” Clarke said.

Then the thought emerged, Clarke recalled, “Why not start our own business?” 

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Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

For the cake:

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
Lemon zest from two lemons
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the cream cheese frosting:

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Juice of one lemon

Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake tins by using liners or spray with non- stick cooking spray. 

To make the cake, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl, and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle, whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. 

Beat in the extracts, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.

Place the batter into the cupcake tins. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch  --- a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

To make the cream cheese, use a mixer to blend the butter and cream cheese together until well combined. Gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar until fully incorporated. Finally mix in vanilla and lemon juice.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

-- Recipe courtesy of Cheryl Howard and Elana Clarke, adapted from MyBakingAddiction.com