Lemon Glazed Cupcakes

Last weekend my Mom hosted a bridal shower for my future cousin-in-law (is that what your cousin's wife is called?  I don't know, but that's what I'm going with!).  She did an awesome job planning the party and I was able to help out with a few of the hors d'oeuvres and desserts.  I love experimenting with new recipes and I'm excited to share some of them with you over the next couple of weeks.

These lemon cupcakes were one of those recipes and they turned out to be a huge hit at the shower.  The cake recipe is from a family friend.  The addition of instant lemon pudding and a lemon glaze after baking makes it a super moist cake with tons of lemony flavor.  The frosting was based on a vanilla buttercream recipe, but lemon juice was substituted for milk and the addition of lemon zest really punched up the flavor.  This was pretty much improvised as we went along, but it turned out great and I tried to capture everything in the recipe below as accurately as possible!  

If you like citrus desserts, you'll love these.  And they're perfect for Easter if you're still planning your menu!

Lemon Glazed Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
1 lemon cake mix
1 package instant lemon pudding
3/4 c vegetable or canola oil
1 c milk
4 eggs

For the lemon glaze:
2 c confectioners sugar
juice of 2 lemons

For the lemon buttercream frosting:
3 c confections sugar
1/3 c butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
~2 T lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 and line cupcake pans with liners.  To make the cupcakes, combine all ingredients with your electric hand mixer or stand mixer.  Fill cupcake pans to about 3/4 full.  Bake at 325 for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are baking, mix the lemon glaze ingredients with your mixer until smooth.  When the cupcakes are finished baking and still warm, poke holes in the tops with a fork to allow the glaze to soak into the cake.  Pour glaze over cupcakes (~1T each).  Remove cupcakes from the pan and allow to cool on a rack.

To make the frosting, whip the butter and the vanilla with your hand mixer.  Slowly add the confectioners sugar and mix until combined.  Add the lemon zest and 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice.  Whip until smooth.  Adjust to desired consistency by adding more lemon juice or more confectioners sugar, as needed.  Transfer to pastry bag fitted with your favorite tip (I used a 2D) and swirl frosting onto cupcakes once cooled.  Feel free to experiment with how you decorate them - these cupcakes were swirled from the inside out, but if you start from the outside they'll have a completely different look.  Play around and find what you like best!