Lemon Cupcakes w/ Lemon Frosting

These are deliciously moist with an ample amount of lemon flavor in both cupcake and frosting.  There's a fine line while baking with lemon between just right and too much, and these fall into the just right category.  I've done quite a bit of experimenting making lemon cupcakes and frosting since my friend, Emily, told me that she's been craving a delicious gluten-free lemon cupcake w/ frosting that actually tasted delicious.  After much experimentation, we have success!  You'll find I use lemon essential oil to enhance the flavor in the cupcake.  I love the DoTerra essential oils, particularly their lemon, since it's wonderful to use in cooking.  You can buy the lemon oil at mydoterra.com/cstolworthy, my friend Christine's online store. They can be shipped all over the world!  A note on using the oil: while baking, you can use plenty of lemon oil, with frosting, use just 1 drop since a little goes a long way!  Enjoy!

* For something different, try my Strawberry-Lemon Cupcakes!

To create wedding reception-worthy cupcakes, the lemon frosting was piped on in swirls.  White edible glitter was sprinkled just on the top middle and then a small piece of homemade candied lemon peel was placed on top to create a finished look. Yum!

More everyday cupcakes - piped from a freezer ziploc bag by snipping the corner.  

Lemon Cupcakes w/ Lemon Frosting

Makes 9 cupcakes, can easily be doubled to make 18 cupcakes.

Set oven at 350F.  Line 9 muffin cups with paper liners.

Mix the following in a bowl:

¼ cup coconut flour

¼ cup white rice flour

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking soda

½ cup sugar

Add and whisk until smooth:

½ cup milk (lactose-free works great)

¼ cup oil

¼ tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp orange zest (make sure to only use the outer edge of the orange, so you don’t get the white rind, which is bitter)

1 tsp lemon zest

9 drops lemon essential oil (I love DoTerra Essential Oils* b/c many of their oils are good for ingesting. The lemon and peppermint are wonderful for cooking!)

Add and whisk in:

3 eggs

This batter will seem very runny, but that’s okay!  Coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid during cooking.

Pour into 9 muffin cups. Fill ~ ¾  full.   Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden browned. 

These rise SO well. The coconut flour absorbs a remarkable amount of liquid, leaving you with a moist, delicious cake!

Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.  Top with Lemon Frosting, below.

Lemon Frosting

Beat until nice and creamy:

½ cup butter (softened)

¼ cup cream cheese (softened)

Add the following and beat until light and fluffy:

(you can add the powdered sugar by ½ cups to avoid it making a mess during mixing – I tend to just mix slowly, scrap down, mix again, scrap, etc. until it’s all combined)

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tbsp milk (lactose-free works great)

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 drop lemon essential oil (*)

½ tsp lemon zest, optional

Make sure you’ve let your frosting beat so it’s nice and light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Scoop the frosting into a Ziploc baggie.  Cut the corner off and pipe onto cupcakes.  To make swirls, as shown in the picture, start in the center and pipe in a swirl, making your way outward. 

Enjoy!

*You can buy the DoTerra Lemon Essential Oil at mydoterra.com/cstolworthy, my friend Christine's online store.  The great thing I love about the DoTerra Essential oils is that they're a very high quality and taste, and are made to be ingested - they have all sorts of other flavors that can be used in cooking and baking!