Vanilla Lemon Cupcakes with Pomegranate Buttercream

Active time: 45 minutes | Bake time: 12 | Yield: 24 cupcakes

One of my best sources of inspiration for new recipes is by trying to come up with ways to use things that I have leftovers of, because I hate to waste food! I made a double batch of my pomegranate curd for my Mini Pavlovas, knowing I would be able to come up with something ot use it for. After some thinking, I decided it would be interesting to throw the leftover curd in a buttercream, and boy did it work!

The cupcakes themselves have just the slightest hint of lemon to compliment the pomegranate flavor (I don't even like lemon flavored desserts, but I loved these), and the buttercream is the perfect combination of sweet and tart!

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:

• 113g (½ cup / 8 tbsp) butter, melted & cooled

• 325g (2 ½ cups + 2 tbsp) all purpose flour

• 400g (2 cups) granulated sugar

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• 1 ½ tsp salt

• 1 cup milk

• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste (or high quality vanilla extract)

• 2 large eggs

• 2 tsp lemon zest

• 2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

• 1 cup hot water

For the Buttercream:

• 339g (1 ½ cup / 3 sticks) butter, softened

• 480g (4 cups) powdered sugar

• 3 -5 tbsp heavy whipping cream

• ½ tsp salt

• ¾ cup pomegranate curd (you can substitute this for really any flavor of curd).

Directions:

1. For the cupcakes: Melt your butter in a medium microwave safe bowl, let sit for at least 10 minutes to cool.

2. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prepare 2 cupcake pans with liners.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

4. In the medium bowl with the butter, add milk, vanilla, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice and whisk until combined.

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until very well incorporated.

6. Slowly pour the hot water into the batter and whisk until the batter is thin and smooth.

7. Fill cupcake liners about halfway and bake for 11-15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean, or with a few crumbs (if you see any liquid batter on the toothpick, continue to bake for 1-2 more minutes and check again.

8. Remove the cupcakes from the ocean and allow to cool for about 15 minutes in the cupcake pan, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing and filling.

9. For the buttercream: Whisk butter until light and creamy in an electric mixer with whisk attachment.

10. Add half of the powdered sugar, 3 tbsp heavy cream, and salt. Mix on low speed until mostly combined, scraping down the bowl. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and mix until the sugar is incorporated.

11. Once the sugar is incorporated, scrape down the bowl and add the pomegranate curd. Whisk on medium-high speed until evenly combined.

    1. At this point, if your buttercream is too loose, add additional powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.

    2. If your buttercream is too thick, add additional heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency

12. Transfer buttercream to a piping bag and pipe onto completely cooled cupcakes.

    1. Alternatively, you can spread the icing on with a butter knife, or use a cookie scoop to scoop the icing onto the cupcake.

    2. Optional: before icing, fill the center of the cupcakes with pomegranate curd if you have extra!