These are not your everyday, quick-cooking cupcakes. These are for special occasions and worth every minute of effort! These are pound cake-like in density, and part of the lemon flavor comes from a liqueur called Limoncello, which is really lovely. If you "Google" recipes using this liqueur, you'll find it in everything from pasta to chicken. I hope you'll make these cupcakes for someone's birthday, Father's Day, Mother's Day, a bridal shower... and I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!Yield: 1 dozen
For the cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons Limoncello (an Italian lemon liqueur)
1 tsp. coconut extract (optional)
½ cup milk or buttermilk
¼ cup lemon juice
½ c shredded sweetened coconut
Zest of 1 lemon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until light and creamy, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the Limoncello, coconut extract, milk and lemon juice, and beat an additional minute. On low speed, add flour mixture, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add the coconut and lemon zest and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Divide the batter between 12 muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely.
For the lemon curd:
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
In a heavy medium saucepan, stir together the lemon zest, juice and sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and egg yolk. Whisk a small amount of the lemon mixture into the eggs to temper them. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium heat, whisking constantly until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and let cool completely.
For the cream cheese Limoncello frosting:
½ stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon Limoncello
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Coconut for toasting, for decorating top of cupcakes
*you can also add a little coconut to the frosting itself if you're a big fan :)
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the Limoncello and beat for an additional minute. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated and smooth.
Toast about 1/2 C additional coconut for topping the cupcakes if desired. You can easily toast the coconut in the oven while it's coming up to temperature for the cupcakes, or you can do it on top of the stove in a small skillet. Always watch very carefully when you toast coconut or nuts as they get away from you so quickly!
Assembly:
1. Cut a cone shaped piece from the top of each cupcake. Cut the point off of the cones so that you won't be displacing too much filling when you put these cones back on top of the filling.
2. Fill the cavity with the lemon curd.
3. Replace the trimmed cones on top of the filling, and don't push down too hard. If it sticks up a little or if a little filling squishes out the top, it's fine since the frosting will cover it up.
4. Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle on the toasted coconut. Then have someone with willpower hide some of them, so you don't finish them off in one night! Actually they're so rich you won't be able to finish them quickly unless you have the world's biggest sweet tooth!
