Mini Perfect Party Cake Cupcakes

Submitted by Hannah

The other day my son Nicholas and I were so excited to have a beautiful day in Minnesota after such a long harsh winter that we decided to bake a treat for our neighbors. We decided to make mini cupcakes using one of my favorite frosting recipes and we tried a new cake recipe that turned out to be delicious. These pretty and tasty little treats were the perfect way to say hello to the neighbors after hibernating for six months (and I'm not even kidding on how long we have been couped up, so sad). I found that this frosting recipe happens to be good on everything I have tried it with. I have gotten many compliments on it and have been asked for the recipe many times. The cake recipe will definitely be a cake I would make again and it is just a delicious white cake with just a hint of lemon flavor. I happen to love cake so when I find a good recipe that is the perfect combination of flavor and texture I get excited. I chose to make these into mini cupcakes and cook them a shorter amount of time as the recipe calls for it to be a traditional cake.

Perfect Party Cake

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups cake flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk

4 large egg whites

1 ½ cups sugar

2 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 stick (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ tsp. lemon extract (I omitted this)

Directions: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment paper. Dust both pans with flour, shaking out the excess. Set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and egg whites. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Mix them with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter to the sugar mixture and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon extract. Add one third of the flour mixture, continuing to beat on medium speed. Beat in half of the egg mixture, then 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. Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans and smooth tops with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well-risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted in the centers should come out clean. ( For the cupcakes I only cooked them about 12-14 minutes.)

Not Too Sweet Frosting

Here is the frosting recipe:

1 Cup Milk

5 Tablespoons Flour

1/2 Cup Butter, softened ( You can use all butter in this recipe and omit the shortening if you would like)

1/2 Cup Shortening

1 Cup Granulated Sugar

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Whisk flour and milk together in medium saucepan over medium heat until thickened. Pour into shallow dish, cover with plastic wrap and let cool (I put mine in the refrigerator for a couple of hours). Beat butter and shortening together for 4 minutes. Gradually add sugar to the butter mixture. Beat an additional 4 minutes. Slowly add the cooled flour paste to the butter mixture and beat an additional 4 minutes. Add vanilla and beat well.

Cake Source: Annie's Eats

Frosting Source: The Fat Bottomed Girl