Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes

Just looking at these pictures makes me drool. Raspberries and lemon... so delicious together. I made the frosting without any butter, so maybe you can call them semi-healthy. I used a seedless raspberry jam to give the color and flavor to the frosting. I made half of the batch with plain raspberry frosting. When making the other half, I mixed in crushed fresh raspberries into the frosting. It's even more fruity that way.

Batter

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 stick butter, softened (I used vegan butter. It works great too!)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup kefir or buttermilk
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 1/2 lemon
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

Frosting

• 8oz plain cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar (if you want a thicker frosting, you can experiment with more powdered sugar)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp seedless raspberry jam
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries (Optional. If you would like to add them to the frosting and make it more fruity and chunky, go for it)
• fresh raspberries for decoration

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake cups with liners. 

In a mixing bowl combine softened butter and sugar. Use a spatula or a fork to mix them together until the mixture looks even. Add eggs, vanilla extract, kefir or buttermilk, lemon zest and juice. Whisk everything very well. Gradually add flour and baking powder. Whisk to combine until the batter is nice and smooth. 

Divide the batter among the cupcake cups. I usually fill them a little over two thirds full. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes (depending on your oven) or until a toothpick comes out clean. I like mine to turn golden before I take them out. Cool the cupcakes before decorating with frosting. 

With an electric mixer beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and raspberry jam until smooth and creamy. If you're using fresh raspberries, first decorate half of the cupcakes with the plain frosting. Then fold in fresh raspberries into the remaining half of the frosting. Decorate the remaining cupcakes. Top each cupcake with a fresh raspberry. Bon Appetit!