Recipe Tuesday :: Lemon Curd Cupcakes

Cupcakes are required for every birthday as far as I'm concerned.  Back on May 1st that birthday was the lovely Vida's and her requested flavor was lemon.  I perused Pinterest and I found an excellent Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcake recipe by Your Cup of Cake.  I thought I would jazz it up a bit by topping the cupcakes with some lemon curd before the finishing touch of as much lemon cream cheese frosting as possible.   I have to say they were so good they could probably solve world peace.

The cake was moist and fluffy.  The lemon curd was sweet and tangy.  The cream cheese frosting was perfect with just a hint of lemon.  Never over-the-top, just a lovely combination of flavors.

So you can make your own perfect lemon cupcakes you'll need a spot-on, foolproof lemon curd recipe.

Carrie's Perfect Lemon Curd
(Adapted from a Martha Stewart Recipe)

1 box of lemon Jell-O, 3oz
1 Tbsp cold water
4 eggs plus 6 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
zest of 2 lemons
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (5 to 6 lemons)
6 Tbsp butter, cut into 1 inch pieces

Sprinkle water over Jell-O and mix, it will be thick.  Let it sit about 5 minutes.  In a double boiler (bowl set over a pan with boiling water in the bottom), whisk together the eggs and egg yolks.  Whisk in the sugar, zest and lemon juice.  Cook, whisking constantly until thick, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and add in the Jell-O, stirring until the gelatin dissolves.  Add the butter a little bit at a time and stir until smooth, continuing until all the butter is incorporated.  Strain through a fine sieve into another bowl.  Put plastic wrap on top of the curd to prevent a skim from forming on the top.  Use right away while warm or refrigerate until needed.  When you pull it out of the fridge, microwave the amount you want at 10 second intervals until it's warm and spreadable.

I'm pretty sure these will be on the permanent rotation list...