These cupcakes are buttery. With an eighth of a stick in each one, you’d better approach this recipe with healthy arteries. That said, they’re totally worth it. They make cupcakes an interesting dessert, which is refreshing after years and years of thinking that cupcakes are supposed to be dripping with partially-hydrogenated oils.

My only advice is to get your lemon juice from real lemons, and to not skip the zest. These components really contribute an authentic lemon flavor that can’t be imitated with the lemon juice that comes in one of those lemon-shaped plastic containers. If you’re a health nut, you could probably use a little less butter.

Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes

Ingredients: 1 ½ (or less) sticks butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, 4 ½ tsp. lemon zest, 2 eggs, 1 ¼ cups flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, ¼ cup buttermilk, 4 tbsp. (or more) lemon juice, raspberry
jam, fresh raspberries

Directions:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line 12 muffin tins with papers.
• In electric mixer or by hand, beat butter, 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, and 3 tsp. lemon zest, and a bit of lemon juice until fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating until blended after each one.
• Beat in ½ of flour, then the butter milk and 2 tbsp. lemon juice, then the remaining flour.
• Fill each muffin liner by first dropping in a dollop of batter, then a spoonful of jam, then enough batter to cover the jam, but not so much that it sticks out above the paper.
• Bake for about 23 minutes.
• While the cupcakes are baking, whisk 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, and 1 ½ tsp. lemon zest to make icing.
• When cupcakes are done, let them cool for 5-10 min. then ice half of them.
• Add some raspberry jam to the icing, and then ice the other half.
• Garnish with fresh raspberries.