When life hands you lemons…. make them into lemon cupcakes.

I am desperately trying to hold on to the final days of summer, and one of my favorite summer things is tart, refreshing lemonade (duh). I recently had a lemon cupcake from a local bakery, and fell head over heels in love. So when I decided to bake this weekend, I knew lemon was the way to go.

Adding lemon is one of the easiest ways to jazz up a cupcake. All you need for these recipes is the zest and juice of two lemons!

Lemon Cupcakes (adapted from Hello, Cupcake!)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp lemon zest

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Combine milk and oil in a small bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture alternately with milk mixture in batches, beginning and ending with flour. Add lemon zest; beat until just blended. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool, then top with lemon buttercream frosting.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 cups confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 lemon (zest and juice)

pinch of salt

Directions:

Beat butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes, depending on desired consistency). Add vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Beat until combined.

Enjoy!