Blood Orange Lemon Cupcakes

Blood Orange Lemon Cupcakes

By: Laura Kasavan of Tutti Dolci
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Cook: 20 mins
Serves: 18

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 Sunkist® Blood orange, zested
  • 1 Sunkist® lemon, zested
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt, room temperature

Lemon Curd

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Sunkist® lemon zest
  • 6 tablespoons Sunkist® lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Blood Orange Frosting

  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup Sunkist® Blood orange juice, strained
  • 1 teaspoon Sunkist® lemon juice

Directions

  1. Prepare Lemon Curd (instructions below) and set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two 12-cup standard muffin pans with baking cups.
  3. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
  4. Beat butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy; beat in Blood orange zest, lemon zest, and vanilla.
  5. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
  6. Combine buttermilk and Greek yogurt in a small bowl. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk mixture (begin and end with flour mixture).
  7. Use a medium cookie scoop coated with nonstick spray to fill each baking cup 2/3rds full of batter.
  8. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until cupcakes spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  9. Let cupcakes cool in pans on wire racks for 2 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely.
  10. To fill the cupcakes, use a small paring knife to cut a small cone out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each cupcake with a spoonful of lemon curd.
  11. Make frosting (instructions below) and transfer to a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip and decorate cupcakes. Chill 20 minutes before serving.
  12. Store leftover cupcakes covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Lemon Curd

  1. Whisk together lemon zest, juice, sugar, salt, and eggs in a heavy saucepan.
  2. Cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened.
  3. Add butter a few pieces at a time, whisking constantly until melted.
  4. Continue until curd is smooth and thickened, and coats the back of a spoon (about 5 minutes total).
  5. Strain curd through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.
  6. Press a piece of plastic directly on the surface, and chill until cold – at least one hour.

Blood Orange Frosting

  1. For the frosting, beat butter and salt in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy.
  2. Beat in vanilla. Mix in powdered sugar on low speed 1 cup at a time until incorporated, scraping down bowl as needed.
  3. Add Blood orange juice and lemon juice and mix in on low speed until smooth.
  4. Increase speed to medium-high and beat frosting for 1 minute, until light and airy.

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