vanilla cupcakes (martha stewart)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 large eggs, separated
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 cup plus scant 1/3 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
preheat oven to 350f.
line muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. add vanilla; beat to combine. add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
sift together both flours, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. With the mixer on low, add flour mixture; mix until well combined. add sour cream; mix until well combined.
in a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter.
fill each muffin cup half full with batter. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until a skewer inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. let cupcakes cool completely.
lemon curd
1 cup sugar
zest of 3 lemons
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 cup lemon juice
5 ounces unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
place sugar and lemon zest in a mortar and grind with a pestle to combine and release the oils. transfer sugar mixture to a medium heatproof bowl along with eggs and egg yolks; whisk to combine. place over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk until sugar has dissolved. add lemon juice and continue whisking until mixture is thick and reaches 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. add butter and whisk until well combined.
strain lemon mixture through a fine mesh sieve set over prepared bowl. cover lemon curd with plastic wrap, pressing plastic wrap directly onto surface. transfer to refrigerator until completely chilled.
blueberry buttercream
1/2 cup veg shortening
1/2 cup butter
6-8 cups powdered sugar
blueberries
so first i cooked a cup or two of fading but fresh blueberries down (with a bit of water and sugar), strained them and added the liquid to the frosting.
it was blueberry enough.
so i used the blueberry compote that my beautiful friend g. sent from alaska! it was the perfect solution. strain if you don't like blueberry bits in your frosting.
assembly
prepare lemon curd.
make the cakes.
whip up your buttercream.
use an apple corer or veg peeler to make small holes in each cake.
with either a pastry bag or squeeze bottle to fill each cake with curd.
top with buttercream and blueberries!
