Amazingly delicious and mouthwatering lemony cupcakes with a beautiful, smooth frosting are always a good idea! Perfect for numerous festive occasions, holidays, birthdays, anniversaries or crazy parties…you name it!
Or simply enjoy them for weekend family time and celebrate life! Limoncello offers an incredible touch to desserts, so my recommendation is: do not skip it in the preparation! Here is the recipe:
Servings 24
Ingredients:
For the Limoncello cupcakes:
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1 ¼ cups water
- ¼ cup Limoncello liqueur
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3 egg whites
- Grated peel and juice of one medium lemon
For the chocolate frosting:
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3-4 tbsp. milk
For the garnish (optional):
- Lemon zest
Instructions:
To make Limoncello cupcakes:
- Heat oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4 (325°F/ 165°C/ Gas Mark 3, for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
- In a large bowl, beat cupcake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full.
- Bake 18 to 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling rack.
To make the chocolate frosting:
- In a medium bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar with electric mixer or spoon on low speed until blended. Stir in chocolate and vanilla.
- Gradually beat in just enough milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time.
- Frost cupcakes, mounding and swirling frosting in the center.
- Garnish with lemon zest (if desired). Store covered in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. For more lemon flavor, fill centers of baked cupcakes with a dollop of lemon curd.
