Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes Recipe

Using what I had in my pantry; cream cheese, lemons and lemon curd, I decided to make lemon cream cheese cupcakes. Adding lemon to cream cheese makes the cupcake lighter and the cupcakes resemble mini lemon cheese cakes.

Lemon Curd Recipe

Lemons are nutritious fruits, packed with Vitamin C and are juicy, tangy and flavourful. They are cheap, readily available all year round and you can use them in your baking, cooking, drinks and even cleaning!

Lemon curd is a dessert spread made with lemon juice, eggs and sugar. You can pair lemon curd with scones, tarts, bread muffins, etc. - the choice is endless. Try to avoid store-bought lemon curd as they are very easy to make. 30 minutes is all you need, including preparatory time.

Ingredients
80ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used about 1.5 lemons)
150g white sugar
3 eggs
Some freshly grated lemon zest (I used 1 lemon worth, you can omit if you do not have a grater)
60g unsalted butter (I finally got to try President brand!)

Method
1. In a metal bowl, whisk together eggs, lemon juice and sugar. Using the double broiler method, heat the mixture. The water in the broiler should be simmering.

2. Whisk for 8-10 minutes till mixture thickens. Whisking constantly helps to prevent clumps from forming. The curd is done when the mixture is thick, or reaches a mayonnaise-like texture. In the enlarged picture below, you can see that whisking leaves visible traces behind.

3. Remove bowl from heat. Add in lemon zest and butter. Mix well till butter dissolves. There should be a glossy tint to your lemon curd.

Tips

When using a grater to remove zest from lemon, avoid scrapping at the white portions as those are bitter. You only want the yellow portion, which is the outermost layer.

If you get clumps in your mixture, sieve your mixture before adding in the butter.

You can prepare and chill the lemon curd a few days before use. When leaving in fridge, use a cling wrap to cover bowl. The cling wrap should touch and cover the surface of curd to prevent an extra layer from forming.

Homemade Vanilla Essence (Extract) Recipe

Vanilla essence/extract is one basic flavouring used in many recipes; basic sponge, butter or cupcakes. For a novice baker, the cheapest and most convenient way to get vanilla essence is from supermarkets or baking stores, e.g. Bake King's vanilla essence ($1.35 per bottle of 26ml).

However, after baking for some time, one will realise that the taste of the baked product depends heavily on the type of ingredients used. By that I am referring to the specifics; i.e. brand of butter, flour, etc. With so many commercial brands available, quality and price are two things I look out for when I buy my ingredients. Best-value-for-money is my mantra.

So why not invest in making your own vanilla essence? It is much simpler than you think; all you need is some good quality vanilla beans and vodka.