We made these cupcakes for Schäfer’s preschool class on his 3rd birthday. They were absolutely perfect – even with the yogurt substitution. Since our blender decided to take a break from blending the sugar into a fine powdered sugar, we ended up boiling the icing at the last minute. Yum! I can’t wait for my birthday.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sour cream (yogurt works great)
FROSTING:
- 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
- 2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- 1 tablespoon milk
Directions
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add lemon peel and vanilla; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. For frosting, cream butter and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add lemon juice, vanilla, lemon peel and milk; beat until smooth. Frost cupcakes.
What do you use for sour cream…real sour cream? That’s hard to find and pricy in China. I’ve used whipping cream with vinegar added in the past but that’s expensive too. Do you have a cheaper substitution? Thanks! And congrats on your little girl! That’s SOOOO exciting!
Oops. I just added to the post that we used yogurt instead of sour cream. We make our own yogurt so it is sugar free and super thick! Any yogurt would probably do. I agree that making the sour cream from whipping cream and vinegar is great, but pricey. I only do that if 1. whipping cream is available and 2. we’re eating Mexican where we want sour cream on our burritos. Whenever I bake a recipe that calls for sour cream, I substitute yogurt. It works.