Multi-Colored Mini Almond Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting and Coconut

Pin It We didn't have any dessert in the house, so I had to come up with a recipe to indulge my raging sweet tooth. Using the ingredients I already had in my kitchen, I came up with this beauty. It is multicolored because I knew my 3 year old would LOVE it! I suppose you could make it without adding any colors, but what fun would that be? Enjoy this recipe, it's *almost* like a tropical vacation!

Multi-Colored Mini Almond Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting and Coconut

Cake Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

6 tablespoons butter, softened

2 teaspoons almond extract

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups buttermilk**

Cooking spray
Food coloring

Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Food coloring

Topping:

Coconut (I colored mine with food coloring)

1/2 cup lemon curd (usually found next to the jelly/peanut butter in grocery stores)

*If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute with 1 1/4 cups milk mixed with just over 1 tbsp lemon juice. Just let the milk/lemon juice combination sit for 5 minutes before using.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes).

Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; stir well with a whisk.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition. Divide batter into two smaller bowls. Add different colors of food coloring to each one until you have achieved the desired color. 

Spoon batter into mini muffin pans coated with cooking spray, alternating colors in each cup. Sharply tap pan once on counter to remove air bubbles.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan.

Cool completely on wire rack.

Frosting Preparation:

Place the butter in a large bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the maching and add the powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk and almond extract. Blend with mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute more. If frosting seems too thick, add one more tablespoon of milk and blend until smooth. Add food coloring until desired color.



Frost cupcakes with a smooth edge spatula, and then dip the tops in a bowl of coconut. Top with a dollop of lemon curd.

Capellini with Olive Oil, Lemon, and Parsley

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This is another one of those recipes from a cookbook that I have had for a while, but never cooked from. As I leafed through the pages of my Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Pasta cookbook, this one caught my eye. It looked light, fresh, and pretty easy. And it was! Find the original recipe here. I topped it with shredded Parmesan, and served it with cheesy bread and a romaine salad. For dessert, I made Tiramisu with fresh baked pound cake (recipe in following post).

Capellini with Olive Oil, Lemon, and Parsley

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 lemon, zested and juiced, with all of the zest and half of the juice reserved

1 tsp. plus 2 Tbs. salt, plus more, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 lb. cappellini or spaghettini (I used angel hair)

1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley (I didn't use a full 1/2 cup, still tasted awesome)

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a large fry pan over low heat, warm the oil. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant but not golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest, the lemon juice and the 1 tsp. salt. Season with pepper. Transfer the sauce to a large serving bowl.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the 2 Tbs. salt and the pasta to the boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

Add the pasta to the sauce along with the parsley and toss to combine. Add as much of the cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, top with Parmesan cheese, and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Pasta, by Julia della Croce (Oxmoor House, 2006)

Lemonade Cake

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I saw this recipe on Pinterest, and of course, I had to try it. I made it for Easter and my son's 3rd birthday (by request from him), as well as one other time. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to make, and really delicious! I use extra fresh lemon juice (squeezed from the lemon I zested) in the frosting to thin it out a bit, and it also tarts it up. Additionally, I use lemon curd as the middle layer, instead of frosting, because that tarts it up some, too. You can find the original recipe here.

Lemonade Cake

Cake:

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

3 tablespoons thawed lemonade concentrate

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Cooking spray

Frosting:

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

2 teaspoons thawed lemonade concentrate

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 ounces cream cheese

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Filling:

1/2 cup lemon curd

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes).

Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; stir well with a whisk.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.

Pour batter into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans.

Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, place 2 tablespoons butter and the next 4 ingredients (2 tablespoons butter through cream cheese) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy.

Add powdered sugar, and beat at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat).

Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup lemon curd.

Top with remaining cake layer.

Spread frosting over top and sides of cake.

Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

COOKING LIGHT 2002

This was the cake for my Teddy's 3rd Birthday!