Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

My daughter Hannah requested I make these for her 12th birthday party this weekend.  I let her choose which kind of cupcakes she wanted.  And she chose lemon cupcakes, which happen to be one of my absolute favorites.  They also make the whole house smell amazing.  

Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3 cups self-rising flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1 cup whole milk, divided

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 30 cupcake pan cups with paper liners.

Sift the self-rising flour and salt together in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the unsalted butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating each egg until incorporated before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

Gently beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture, one third at a time, alternating with half the milk and half the lemon juice after each of the first 2 additions of flour. Beat until just combined; do not over mix.

Fill the prepared cupcake liners with batter 3/4 full, and bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before removing them to finish cooling on a rack.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Beat cream cheese, butter, lemon juice, lemon rind, and vanilla together until smooth and fluffy. 

Add confectioners' sugar in 2 additions. Beat until creamy. 

Add more icing sugar or juice as needed for easy spreading. Makes about 3 2/3 cups.

My lil cuppy cake <3