Will Your Valentine's Day be Sweet or Sour?Mine will be both!
Who makes Lemon Cupcakes for Valentine's Day? Well, uh, me. I decided to go untraditional this Valentine's Day. It wasn't really a decision as much as a process of elimination. I had lemon cake mix that I've been meaning to use, so I figured why not.
To give the cup cakes a little bit of a Valentine's theme, creamy chocolate frosting seemed the best plan of action. And what's creamier than cream cheese?
This frosting seems so sinful, but it's actually less fattening than frosting made with butter, because I used Neufatchel cream cheese which has less saturated fat than butter. Plus it seemed appropriate to pair lemon cake with a frosting that had a little bit of a tang.
...And of course, kisses add to the love motif.
To give the cup cakes a little bit of a Valentine's theme, creamy chocolate frosting seemed the best plan of action. And what's creamier than cream cheese?
This frosting seems so sinful, but it's actually less fattening than frosting made with butter, because I used Neufatchel cream cheese which has less saturated fat than butter. Plus it seemed appropriate to pair lemon cake with a frosting that had a little bit of a tang.
...And of course, kisses add to the love motif.
So let there be...
Chocolate Kissed Lemon Cupcakes
1 box lemon cake mix
Freshly grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Prepare cake mix according to directions on box, adding in the grated lemon rind and almond extract. Bake as directed. Let cool completely.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package neufatchel cream cheese, softened at room temperature
4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons soy milk, room temperature
24 Hershey's dark chocolate kisses, unwrapped of course
Colored sprinkles, optional
In a large bowl or electric mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Pour melted chocolate into cream cheese and mix on medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and salt. Add the confectioners sugar one cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl, and alternating with the milk. Mix until the frosting is spreading consistency; adding additional sugar or milk if necessary.
Frost cupcakes with a small spatula or knife and then pipe a star on the top of each. Sprinkle with colored sugar and add a chocolate kiss.
Chocolate Kissed Lemon Cupcakes
1 box lemon cake mix
Freshly grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Prepare cake mix according to directions on box, adding in the grated lemon rind and almond extract. Bake as directed. Let cool completely.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package neufatchel cream cheese, softened at room temperature
4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons soy milk, room temperature
24 Hershey's dark chocolate kisses, unwrapped of course
Colored sprinkles, optional
In a large bowl or electric mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Pour melted chocolate into cream cheese and mix on medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and salt. Add the confectioners sugar one cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl, and alternating with the milk. Mix until the frosting is spreading consistency; adding additional sugar or milk if necessary.
Frost cupcakes with a small spatula or knife and then pipe a star on the top of each. Sprinkle with colored sugar and add a chocolate kiss.
5 comments:
This is too funny! I just made cupcakes 2 days ago...white with chocolate frosting, sprinkles and topped them with Hershey Kisses! I live 15 mins from hershey..so I picked up 6 bags of them! Great blog!
Beautiiful cupcakes!
Do you like the lemon/chocolate combo?
I don't think I've ever done that, but how can you go wrong with chocolate?
Happy Valentine's Day!
Shelly, You are so lucky to live right near Hershey. I guess you never run out of kisses!!
Em, I love the lemon chocolate combo. Dunkin Donuts used to have a donut called the chocolate lemonaire. It had a lemon curd-like filling with chocolate frosting. It was one of my fav's.
As a matter of fact I really wanted to fill these with lemon pudding but I forgot. I will next time!
You should try it!
I love lemon cake so why not cupcakes I tryed and loved it.good job Annie.Bambola
Oh how I wish I had one of these right now. They look great!
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