Cupcake Wars

Happy birthday to my SIX year old, who is growing up into quite the little lady.

We baked lemon cupcakes together. We made little cupcakes and regular sized cupcakes, but Poppy wanted her oversized candle in one of the tiny ones. Ha. Somehow it didn't fall over.

Bry took Poppy out for a daddy-daughter date and came home with three Gigi's cupcakes. At first I was like, what in the world? I just made cupcakes. He told me he bought them to do a "tasting" which seemed like an excuse for more dessert. But having our own cupcake war did sound fun.

 And guess who's cupcake won? Yeah, that's right. All three judges agreed that the homemade cupcake was hands down the best! (Cetty didn't get a vote since she enjoyed all of the cupcakes equally)

Side note: I scraped the pretty icing off of the Gigi's cupcakes because, seriously, icing is gross and that much icing is ridiculous. I know, I know…I'm so mean, but they'll thank me one day.

Poppy's birthday necklace

She wanted me to take a picture of her favorite part…the heart on the back that the clasp hooks to. So cute. I think it's my favorite too.

And a dainty new box for the lovely girl to keep her treasures in.

Also, I'll post the recipe for the winning cupcakes. These really were good and very simple too. The only change I made was adding vinegar to the milk first to make buttermilk, because buttermilk makes everything better. Oh, and instead of icing (since you know how much I dislike icing) I made a glaze with lemon juice, lemon zest, powdered sugar and a little vanilla.

LEMON CUPCAKES

1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature preferred

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (120ml) milk (I use whole, but any milk is fine)

zest + fresh juice of two medium lemons

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 12-count muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.
2. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until creamed. About 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until everything is combined, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 additions, beating on low speed after each addition. Batter will be thick. Beat in the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix this batter at any point.
4. Spoon batter evenly into 12 cupcake liners. Bake for about 20 minutes. Check at 18 minutes, then again at 20. A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean when done. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.