Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

This post completes the Cupcake Quartet series where I show how to make four cupcake flavors out of two batters and two icings. Here are the links to the first and second of the three posts.

Last time, I gave you the recipe to make wonderful Vanilla Cupcakes with Real Strawberry Buttercream. To make half of the cupcakes lemon, place half of the vanilla batter in a bowl and add a tablespoon of lemon zest and bake as directed.

The cupcakes are magnificent with cream cheese icing! I used a half batch of the icing recipe in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. I added lemon zest and pure lemon extract to the icing and it was perfect.

Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

1 stick or 4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 pound (2 cups) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, ½ cup at a time, and then vanilla, lemon zest and lemon extract and mix until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes using a large plain tip and sprinkle with yellow sugar crystals if desired.