Lemon raspberry cupcakes

Today at Barnes and Noble we are wearing pink in honor of supporting breast cancer..... And since I don't work till one, I'm making cupcakes. :-) 

A look around by kitchen shows I do not have the ingredients for a velvet cupcake I wanted make ( i don't have heavy cream), so I found this lovely recipe to share.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 4 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
• 12 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam
• Fresh raspberries (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Using electric mixer, beat butter, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, and 3 teaspoons lemon peel in large bowl until blended, then beat until fluffy and pale yellow. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Beat in half of flour. Add buttermilk and 2 tablespoons lemon juice; beat to blend. Beat in remaining flour.

Filling Optional 1: Drop 1 rounded tablespoonful batter into each muffin liner. Spoon 1 teaspoon raspberry jam over. Cover with remaining batter, dividing equally.

Filling option 2: After cupcakes have cooled, cut out a small portion of the middle of each cake. Cut off the top of the piece you cut out and save. Discard fluffy innards. Fill with raspberry jam or lemon curd. Place top piece back on.

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted halfway into centers comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan on rack. 

Icing option:

Whisk remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel in small bowl. Spoon half of icing over 6 cupcakes. Whisk 1 tablespoon raspberry jam into remaining icing. Spoon over remaining cupcakes. Let stand until icing sets, about 30 minutes. Garnish with raspberries.

Frosting option: 

Whisk remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Add 8 ounce cream cheese. Gradullly add an additional cup of powdered sugar and three tablespoons of sugar. Add two teaspoons of rasberry jam.

Recipe makes 12. 

Found on epicurius and Bon appetite. I adapted the recipe to include another option for filling. 

I didn't use the grated lemon peel, instead I put half a teaspoon of lemon juice.  I didn't have self rising flour, so I made my own by adding a teaspoon of baking soda. You can also add a teaspoon of salt to this, but I really dislike adding salt if I can avoid it. 

If you use Option 1 for the filling, put in a small amount of jam, as it may sink to the bottom during baking.

I put pretty sparkly sprinkles on top since I don't have fresh raspberries.

Next time I think I may make these with a graham cracker crust on the bottom which I believe will really hold in the jam nicely.