Luscious Lemon Cake, Vanilla Bean Buttercream

I was so excited when I tested the batter for my lemon cake recipe. It was so perfect-- it had the tang of lemon with the mild sweetness of a yellow cake. I was so excited to get these guys in the oven and get them frosted!

I'll admit (shame on me?) that I use lemon oil from the candy making aisle of Michaels (Hobby Lobby or Joanns) instead of fresh lemon. SHAME! OH THE humanity! But...it yields such a great and consistent flavor.

Lemon Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream

(thanks to allrecipes.com)

1/2 Cup Butter

1 1/4 Cup Sugar

3 Eggs

1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

at least 1 tsp lemon oil/lemon extract. flavor to taste!

2 Cups flour

2 Tsp baking powder

1 Cup milk (However, I used 1/2 milk, half buttermilk. GREAT result)

Whip the butter and sugar until light and creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time.

Add the extracts.

Sift the flour and baking powder.

Add the milk and flour mixture to the butter alternately.

Pour into cake pan that's been greased. (I used 2 9 inchers for a double recipe)

Bake until toothpick comes out clean. Don't overbake. I baked mine for 20 minutes and then checked it every 4 minutes after that.

Cool and frost.

Fluffy Vanilla Bean Buttercream

(thanks to wilton.com)

1/2 Cup Shortening

1/2 Cup Butter (softened)

1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract (OR if you have fresh vanilla beans, use 3.)

2 Tbsp milk or heavy cream

max of 4 cups powdered sugar

Whip the shortening and butter until very fluffy and pale. LONG time..as in...15-20 minutes.

Add the extract and milk.

At this point, you could either dump the full 4 cups in the butter mix or add powdered sugar one cup at a time until it's the consistency and taste you'd like.

Honestly, the best thing here is just to taste it after about 2 cups. I hate that artificial sugary powder flavor that frostings overwhelm in cakes and cupcakes. If you don't add the full amount, it'll still set up GREAT and it'll taste just smooth and creamy as it should be.

Use!

If you put it in the fridge, whip it up real quick before you use it. It'll get a little stiff.

Enjoy making these lemon cupcakes...man...they are tasty!