Lemon Curd Cupcakes Recipe

Who doesn’t love a good Easter basket? Country Crock® sent us this beautiful basket filled with all of the fixings for delicious Lemon Curd Cupcakes! We couldn’t wait to get started. I’m going to share the recipe here for you, step by step, so that you can enjoy them too. I’ve never made a cake batter with ricotta cheese before and it was absolutely divine. Plus lemon curd dropped inside each little cake, topped with homemade frosting with berries… what’s not to love?! Let’s get started!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 33 minutes

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup Country Crock® Unsalted Buttery Sticks (1 stick)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup lemon curd

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 cup Country Crock® Unsalted Buttery Sticks (2 sticks)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 6 ounces fresh raspberries (I used blueberries instead)
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven in 350 F.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together sugar, cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
   
3. Add Country Crock® Buttery Sticks and mix on medium-low speed for three minutes.
   
4. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta and vanilla extract until smooth.
5. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.
6. Slowly add milk and mix on low speed until just combined.
7. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
8. Bake for 18 minutes and then test to see if done. They are done when a toothpick comes out without wet batter stuck to it. If they are not done, test again every two minutes.
9. When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from cupcake tins and leave them on a cooling rack to cool.
10. Once cooled, cut a small circle around the middle of the top of each cupcake, going down 3/4 of the way into the cupcake creating small cylinders. Remove the cylinders and set aside.
11. Fill each cupcake with 1 tablespoon of lemon curd.
    
12. Remove the bottom half of each of the removed cake cylinders. Place the top halves back on the top of the filled holes. Don't worry if they don't perfectly fit as you will be covering them with frosting.

Frosting Instructions:

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat Country Crock® Buttery Sticks until light and fluffy.
2. Slowly mix in powdered sugar until fully combined.
3. Puree raspberries (or blueberries) in a food processor or blender. Press through a fine sieve to remove seeds. Measure out 1/4 cup of raspberry (or blueberry) puree and mix into the frosting.
   
4. Mix in lemon extract.
5. Spread or pipe on cooled cupcakes.
   

And that’s it! This recipe truly couldn’t be easier for a treat made from scratch. The Country Crock® Buttery Sticks make it so easy because they mix right out of the fridge and you don’t have to wait for them to soften. Plus they are made with sunflower oil and have a soft, creamy texture with a country-fresh taste, making them the perfect choice for both cake batter and your frosting. Add cutting out those little holes to fill with lemon curd is such an unexpected surprise! 

Top with fresh fruit or anything you feel like or nothing at all. We couldn’t resist adding a few more fresh blueberries.

Bon Appetit!

Thank you for the Easter Recipe Basket, Country Crock!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Country Crock®. All thoughts and opinions are my own.