Lemon "cupcakes"

 I use quotation marks because I almost want to call these muffins. 

Muffins with cream cheese frosting. 

Could there be a better muffin?

 They are sweet, but not overly sweet. And the texture is more dense, similar to that of a muffin or maybe even a pound cake. Either way, they taste quite good. I felt bad because I was asked to make cupcakes for an event, and well, I had 24 of whatever-you-want-to-call-these, and no time to throw together anything else, so I brought these muff-cakes. 

Anyway, people seemed to like them. And I ate like 3 of them beforehand, because for some reason I thought that if I kept tasting them, I could be convinced that they were in fact cupcakes. It didn't work, and I just ended up 3 cupcakes fatter.

Ah well.

A veritable cupcake army!

Lemon Cream Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe adapted from here and here

Makes 24-30 cupcakes

CUPCAKES

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 T. grated lemon zest

1/2 tsp lemon extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sour cream

FROSTING:

1/2 cup butter

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 T. Lemon Juice

1 tsp almond extract

approx. 6-7 cups of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tin with paper cups (or grease it).

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add lemon zest and extracts; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill muffin cups about 2/3 of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

For frosting, cream butter in a small mixing bowl. Add softened cream cheese, and beat until smooth. Add lemon juice and almond extract. Beat on high until smooth. Add powdered sugar, adding more until desired consistency. You may also play with the lemon juice measurements if it is not lemon-y enough for you. Frost cooled cupcakes.