Lemon Curd Cupcakes + Chocolate Frosting

I'm not sure why the combination of lemon + chocolate doesn't get as much attention as some other chocolate marriages. It's one that I fell in love with a few years ago when reading a novel called The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. Not that you asked, but I hated that book with a passion, and I don't recommend it (and am not even going to link to it), but was ultimately thankful to have read it because it got me in the kitchen playing around with chocolate-frosted lemon cake recipes, and that was a very good thing indeed.

It's a surprising mix, that bright tartness of lemon with the deep, sensual bitterness of chocolate. It's two sharp, bold flavors crashing together in a beautifully challenging way. I get that it may not be for everyone, but it definitely is for me.

It's what I had in mind when I made these Lemon Curd Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Frosting. I wanted to do something for Valentine's Day, but I was tired of the usual flavors. Chocolate, red velvet, strawberries...all classics, yes, but honestly?

They bore me.

So if you're looking for something a little bit different or more exciting--for the holiday or any other day--give this combination a try.

The cake gets it's flavor and color from lemon curd baked right into the batter. I made my own, but you can easily buy it. It's what I would have done had I not been in a bit of a curd-making binge last week.

It's not swirled or dolloped in, instead it's just stirred right into the batter, making it extra moist and rich. When choosing a lemon curd, go for an opaque buttery one.

Check the ingredients on the label and make sure it's just things like like eggs, butter, lemon juice, and sugar. Skip the ones with cornstarch or weird additives. You want something that tastes tart, not eggy.

For our frosting, we're doing a basic whipped ganache. It's just heavy cream, dark chocolate, and a bit of salt, heated until glossy, then cooled and whipped into fluffy bittersweet submission.

This isn't your usual buttercream, kids.

I added a few heart sprinkles and used red liners because I'm not totally contrarian. Skip them if you are.

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Loved this recipe? Here are three other lemon recipes you might like:

• Lemon Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting
• Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies
• Sparkly Lemon Mocktails (French 75 Mocktail)

And let's connect so you can find out the next time I post! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates.

Thanks so much for reading!    

Lemon Curd Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Frosting
Yields 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup lemon curd (homemade or store-bought—use a creamy version made with only lemon, butter, eggs, and sugar—no cornstarch)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the frosting
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners.

Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, until light and fluffy. Stir in the lemon curd and zest.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. Gently stir into batter, just until completely incorporated. Divide batter into cupcake pans and bake 20-25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove from pan and let cool completely on a rack.

Make the frosting: combine cream, chocolate chips, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring continuously until smooth and silk. Remove from heat and let cool completely to room temperature. Transfer to an electric mixer, and whip until light and fluffy and doubled in volume (about 2-3 minutes).

Frost cooled cupcakes and decorate as desired.

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Vanilla & Brown Sugar Mayonnaise Cupcakes

I have a confession to make. I'm NOT the best person when it comes to remembering birthdays. I can tell you the month and often even the week, but exact dates are forever escaping my memory.

Even my own husband has heard me ask him on multiple occasions, "Your birthday is the 5th, right? Or is it the 4th?"

Seriously...SO terrible!

If you're anything like me, I can tell you that the quickest way to get out of any trouble caused by a forgotten date is to keep a foolproof cake recipe in your back pocket.

Something that is as delicious to eat, as it is beautiful to look at, and ridiculously easy to make.

The object of the game is simple ingredients + major nostalgic flavor.

When the folks at McCormick asked me to share a favorite birthday treat recipe with you to celebrate their 125th birthday, I knew it was time to write about this cake.

Meet my Vanilla & Brown Sugar Mayo Cupcakes!

(AKA the cake to get you out of any kind of dessert-related emergencies, and back into the good graces of the people you love the most.)

This year, in honor of their 125th birthday, McCormick released a brand new pure vanilla extract called Extra Rich Pure Vanilla Extract. This new version is 25% stronger than regular vanilla extract, with an awesome balance between sweet caramel and bourbon-rummy flavors. 

I've always been the kind of girl who sloshes in a little extra vanilla when baking since I love it so much, so I feel like this extract was basically made for me, and I really love how incredible it is in my mayonnaise cake.

If you've never tried (or even heard!) of mayonnaise cakes, they are an old-fashioned kind of cake that dates back to World War II, when things like eggs and butter were rationed.

The mayonnaise--which is made from eggs and oil--would take the place of the missing eggs and butter, producing a cake that is light, fluffy and incredibly moist.

And don't worry--there is absolutely NO mayonnaise flavor in the cake itself--just rich, fragrant vanilla, reminiscent of all my favorite birthday cakes as a little girl.

They're also one-bowl cakes, which means you simply whisk together the dry ingredients, then pour in the wet ones, and mix it all together. A quick stint in the oven, and it won't be long before you and your family are enjoying sweet, classic vanilla cupcakes.

As part of their year-long birthday celebration, McCormick is inviting everyone to visit their site, Flavoroftogether.com to share their favorite flavor stories and memories, and discover new recipes and videos. Hop on over to share about your favorite birthday cake; for each story that is shared, McCormick will be donating $1, up to $1.25 million to the United Way to help feed those in need.

This post is sponsored by McCormick. Thank you for supporting companies like McCormick who make it possible for me to keep creating great content and recipes for you.

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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!     

Vanilla & Brown Sugar Mayonnaise Cupcakes
Mayo takes the place of eggs and oil in this easy one-bowl recipe, producing a cake that is light, moist, and rich with real vanilla flavor.

Yields 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup cold whole milk (you can also substitute a non-dairy milk or even water)
1 cup cold mayonnaise (not light or fat-free)
1 tablespoon McCormick Extra Rich Pure Vanilla Extract

For the frosting
8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons McCormick Extra Rich Pure Vanilla Extract
3 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners.

Whisk together the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the whole milk, mayonnaise, and vanilla, and beat well with an electric mixer until smooth (about 1 minute). Divide evenly into prepared cupcake tins (about 3/4 of the way full each) and bake for 17 to 20 minutes, or until puffed and slightly golden.

Remove cupcakes from pan, and let cool completely on a rack before frosting.

For the frosting
Beat together the softened cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the sifted confectioner's sugar, and beat until smooth.

Frost and decorate cupcakes as desired.

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Whole Grain Banana-Orange Sports Cakes

I'm really excited to share the latest movie snack recipe in my ongoing collaboration with Netflix! As you may know, each month, I create and share a recipe based on a streaming playlist theme that Netflix is featuring that month.

February's theme? Inspiration and teamwork, inspired by the Olympics!

With the Winter Olympics right around the corner, it's the perfect opportunity to check out a few of the amazing sports-themed movies, TV shows, and documentaries available on Netflix.

These kid-friendly titles are a great way for parents to open up a conversation about teamwork, inspiration, and competition--and what it means to "go for the gold"--both on and off the field.

And to make the conversation a little bit sweeter, why not serve some of these cute sports-themed mini cakes!

Made with whole wheat, mashed bananas, and fresh orange juice, they're a slightly healthier alternative to the usual sugary or salty TV & movie-watching snacks. (But don't worry--they taste just as good as regular cakes--I promise!)

I've included the recipe and directions below, but definitely feel free to play around and customize them as you'd like. Use different frostings or small candies for the topping--you can even play around with the flavors of the cake, adding other mashed fruits or spices.

Use these as an inspiration, and have fun baking, eating, and watching great stories, and even better moments, with your kids.


Note: This post is sponsored by Netflix. Thank you for supporting cool companies like Netflix who make it possible for me to keep creating fun new content for you to enjoy. All photos, opinions, and recipes are (of course!) my own.

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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!     

Whole Grain Banana-Orange Sports Cakes
Makes about 12-16 mini cakes

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups granulated white sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas--the riper, the better!)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the toppings
Footballs & Hockey Pucks: 1 bittersweet cup chocolate chips
Baseballs & Soccer Balls: 1 cup white chocolate chips
Basketball: 1 cup orange candy melts
Black and red frosting pens, for details (I like gel pens)

Special equipment: Round and oval (or football shaped) cookie cutters (about 2-4" each)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line two 8" square baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat butter, eggs, orange juice, bananas, and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix gently just until combined. Divide into the two prepared pans, and bake about 30-35 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from pans to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

To make the mini cakes: Use the cookie or biscuit cutters to cut out circles and ovals from the cakes in a couple different sizes.

Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave until smooth, and then use a spoon to spread on top of a few of the cakes. Repeat with the dark and orange chips. Let set completely (about 30 minutes). Use black and red frosting pens to add the details (you can also tint canned frosting or cream cheese with food coloring and use a piping pen).

Let the mini cakes set, and then serve all together.

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Pumpkin Orange Mini Cakes with Sugar on Top

I admit that I've had this post sitting in my queue since before Thanksgiving.

My plan had been to post it just before the big feast day as an easy holiday dessert idea, but the craziness took over, and the recipe was left, semi-forgotten, for nearly three weeks.

So wrong. So sorry.

So here's the thing. Sometime around late November, when the citrus fruit comes rocking back into season with a sunny vengeance, I get citrus happy and start adding orange zest to everything.

Seriously.

I've got, like,  three orange zest-filled recipes coming your way soon. But this one? Ahh...this one was particularly lovely. Soft little mini cakes, flavored with a hint of cinnamon and orange, and then dusted with a generous shower of powdered sugar.

The base recipe for these comes from David Leite, and it's pretty much my go-to as far as pumpkin cake is concerned. If you're so inclined, these would be awesome with a cream cheese frosting (try the maple-orange cream cheese frosting I make for my carrot cake--it's divine), but I really prefer the sugar on top, which just makes you want to lick your fingers and reach for a second or (hey!) even third.

(They are mini cakes, after all.)

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And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!
  

Pumpkin Orange Mini Cakes with Sugar on Top

Makes about 2 dozen mini cakes. Inspired by a recipe by David Leite


Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
1 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
Zest of 1/2 large navel orange
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large egg, room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree

Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with liners.

Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, and kosher salt. Set aside.

Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture, followed by the buttermilk, vanilla, and pumpkin puree. Delicately stir in the dry ingredients, just until combined.

Divide into cupcake pan, filling each about 3/4 of the way. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Before serving, brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle generously with confectioner's sugar. Serve immediately.

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Coconut Macaroon Cupcakes w/ Bittersweet Ganache Icing

Last Sunday I woke up with the urge to bake so even before Eugene had completely opened his eyes, I made my way into the kitchen and got to work.

You know I love to bake with almond meal, so I decided on a chewy macaroon-like cupcake that used almond meal and ground desiccated coconut as its base. I used coconut oil instead of butter (you can also use olive oil if you don't have the former) and a bit of coconut milk for added moisture. A generous shot of my homemade vanilla extract helped round out the flavors.


They baked up perfectly in just about 20 minutes, after which I bopped around impatiently waiting for them to cool. The tops are golden and chewy, and the insides are very soft and moist. I topped a few of them with some leftover bittersweet chocolate ganache I had in the fridge from a cake I made earlier in the week. The sparkles are silver sanding sugar that I bought at Williams Sonoma last year, but have never quite gotten around to using yet. I love how they contrast with the shiny foil liners, although in the future I will use paper liners; the foil ones don't allow the bottom of the cupcakes to cool properly and they tend to steam a bit which isn't ideal for a cake.

That evening, after a day spent indulging in various dishes at the 9th Ave International Food Festival, I brought these cupcakes over to my future in-law's house for dinner. They were meant to be a gift for Eugene's dad who is a coconut fiend, but he was forced to share as the rest of the table dove in.


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New to Always Order Dessert? Consider subscribing to my RSS feed, follow me on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates by filling in your address in the box on the right.

And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me.

Thanks for reading!

Coconut Macaroon Cupcakes
These chewy and moist cupcakes can be served with or without the chocolate ganache icing.

Ingredients
2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened ground desiccated coconut
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup coconut or olive oil
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tins with cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine the 2 cups almond meal, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons ground desiccated coconut, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In the base of your mixer, combine the cup of sugar and the 4 large eggs. Whisk for 4-5 minutes, or until the eggs are light, frothy, and have doubled in volume. Add the coconut oil, coconut milk, and vanilla and whisk until incorporated.

4. Fold in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are well incorporated.

5. Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to divide the batter evenly between the tins (you should get about a dozen large cupcakes, 2 dozen small ones).

6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the tins and let cool on a rack. Serve as is, or if you'd like, top with chocolate ganache. (Recipe below)

Best served within 24 hours.

Basic Bittersweet Ganache

Ingredients
2 Cups Heavy Cream
1 pound bittersweet chocolate (chips or chopped)

Place the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Heat the heavy cream over medium heat just until it reaches a simmer. Pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate pieces and used a whisk to mix and combine until smooth. Let cool at room temperature. The ganache will thicken when cool.

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Orange & Vanilla Marmalade Mini Cakes

In my ongoing quest to make efficient use of everything in my fridge, I've come up with an amazing little recipe that I think you're all going to love. I've been calling them marmalade mini cakes since they seem to exist in that gray area between cupcakes and muffins.

I got the idea a few weeks ago when a reader wrote me to ask if there was a way to make my Italian Rainbow Cookie cake without the almond paste since her husband is allergic to nuts. I told her I'd play around with the recipe and soon realized that by swapping out the almond paste for an equivalent weight of apricot preserves I was able to replicate the same moist cake with just a hint of sweet apricot flavor.


I was hooked and decided to see what else would work in its place. You might remember that I made a large batch of orange vanilla bean marmalade back in January. I still have a few jars left, so I opened one up and mixed it into the batter.

Oh. My. God!

The final cakes are moist and fragrant with the scent of oranges and vanilla. The taste is sweet, with a slight hint of that classic marmalade bitterness, and every so often, you get a bite of lovely candied orange rind. Moist like cupcakes, but richly flavored enough to stand alone without frosting, they're absolutely perfect. I've been eating them daily dusted with just a hint of powdered sugar on top. I haven't been to the grocery store in forever so I'm all out of cream, but I think next time I'll definitely whip up a batch of bittersweet ganache to drizzle lightly on top. It doesn't need it, of course, but it might just be the thing to throw it over the edge.


I tend to prefer cakes that I can throw together haphazardly in a one bowl and bake within the span of a single episode of Gossip Girl. This is definitely one of those cakes. And, blame it on the marmalade or the sugar or just sheer magic, but these cakes never seem to go stale. I baked my current batch on Saturday to bring to a picnic on Sunday and the leftovers have been hanging out on the counter all week in a seemingly perpetual state of perfection.

This recipe will work well with any kind of marmalade, though I prefer the thicker cut kind since then you end up with all those lovely bits of candied fruit in the cake. Apricot or peach preserves also work quite nicely. I suspect that raspberry would do the same, but I haven't tested it yet. If you do, let me know...Ok?


Note: I tried to get the batter into 12 muffin cups, but I kept getting leftovers. In the end I just baked the final bits into a mini 4" springform pan. You can, of course, just make 2 more cakes. Whichever you prefer!

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New to Always Order Dessert? Consider subscribing to my RSS feed, follow me on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates by filling in your address in the box on the right. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!

Orange & Vanilla Marmalade Mini Cakes
Makes 12-14 single servings

Ingredients
1.5 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cups granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
6 oz (about 1 cup) of orange marmalade (store-bought or make your own)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1.5 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt


Special equipment: 1 average size muffin pan, buttered and floured or lined with cupcake liners

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the base of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. About 5 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat for 3 more minutes. Add the marmalade and extracts and beat until combined.

2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt then add to the butter mixture. Mix until combined.

3. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tins (about 3/4 of the way each). You may have leftover batter which you can bake in a second batch. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

let cool in the pan for 3 minutes and then remove and let cool on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving. Store leftover cakes in an air-tight container at room temperature. Will keep for approximately 1 week.

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