Lucious Lemon Cupcake

I have been getting so excited for some long summer days.  One of my favorite flavors of the spring is lemon.  Nothing screams spring and summer like yellow lemons, lemon sorbet, a nice cold glass of lemonade… They just make me happy!  I thought this would be th eperfect time to crush that lemon craving and make a luscious lemon cupcake! 

A few weekends ago Joey and I ate brunch at the Whitfield located in the Ace Hotel in Pittsburgh.  On occassion we splurge on dessert, and the server talked us into an Olive Oil Chocolate cake with a Blood Orange sorbet.  He swore by it.  I’m normally not a chocolate cake kind of person.  I mean I like it, but it’s not usually my go to.  I was so intrigued by the thought of olive oil in the cake, that I had to try it.  I have to tell you…  it was the BEST chocolate cake I’ve ever had. It made the cake so incredibly moist and the blood orange sorbet was the perfec balance of sweet and tangy.      

After that moment of bliss… I had to do what any cupcake lover would do.  Try this olive oil cupcake recipe out!  I was going to make my own spin on the chocolate version, but I honestly forgot to buy cococoa powder, so I made a lucious lemon cupcake instead!

The recipe calls for lots of lemons and lemon zest to get a strong lemon flavor. 

Separate 5 egg yolks from the egg whites.  Whisk the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of sugar in a mixer, until combined.
In a separate bowl add 1 cup of cake flour.  The cake flour will give the cake a lighter, fluffier feel.  Zest two whole lemons in the flour and set aside.

In another bowl put 3/4 cup of good quality extra virgin olive oil.  Add the juice of the two lemons you zested.  *Make sure you zest before squeezing the juice.  You may even want to juice a third.  I love a lot of lemony flavor.

Add the olive oil and lemon juice mixture to the egg yolk and sugar mixture, until well combined.

Using a spatula, gently stir in the flour mixture and set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy.  

Keep whisking until the egg whites form soft peaks.  When you pick up the whisk the egg white mixture should curl over kind of like a Dairy Queen ice cream cone… Sort of… 

Gently fold the egg whites into the first mixture with a spatula.  You don’t have to fully combine it because the key to this is to keep it light and fluffy.  

Line your cupcake pan with your favorite liner.  Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frost with your favorite vanilla frosting!  My recipe is below!

Lucious Lemon Cupcakes 

Ingredients:

• 5 egg yolks and 4 egg whites, separated
• 3/4 cup sugar
• zest of two lemons
• juice of 2 lemons (or three- depending on how lemony you want)
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

1.  Preheat oven 350 Degrees.  Separate 5 egg yolks from the egg whites.  Whisk the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of sugar in a mixer, until combined and pale yellow.

2. In a separate bowl add 1 cup of cake flour.   Zest two whole lemons in the flour and set aside.

3. In another bowl put 3/4 cup of good quality extra virgin olive oil.  Add the juice of the two lemons you zested.  *Make sure you zest before squeezing the juice.  You may even want to juice a third.  I love a lot of lemony flavor.  Add the olive oil and lemon juice mixture to the egg yolk and sugar mixture, until well combined.  Using a spatula, gently fold the flour and lemon zest mixture.

4.  In a separate mixing bowl, mix the egg whites until light and fluffy, forming soft peaks.  Gently fold the egg mixture in the egg yolk mixture until hardly combined.

5.  Line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners.  Using an ice cream scoup, fill the liner 3/4 of the way full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Frost with your favorite vanilla frosting.