Description
Sweet lemon, thyme, and rosemary cupcakes blend Mediterranean herb elegance with delicate pastry charm. French-inspired flavors create an enchanting dessert experience you’ll savor until the last delightful crumb.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg white
- 2 ½ cups mascarpone cheese
- 1 cup lemon curd
- 2 tbsps fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 2 tbsps fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 2 lemons
Instructions
- Oven Preparation: Set oven to 350°F and line a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners, spacing them evenly.
- Dry Ingredient Fusion: Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, ensuring a uniform dry mixture.
- Butter Mixture: Cream butter and sugar until fluffy and pale, creating a light, airy foundation for the cupcakes.
- Egg Integration: Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each into the butter mixture before the next addition.
- Flavor Infusion: Combine milk, vanilla, finely chopped rosemary, thyme, and lemon zest in a separate container to develop complex herbal notes.
- Batter Development: Alternately fold flour mixture and herbal milk into the butter base, maintaining a gentle technique to preserve air pockets.
- Final Batter Adjustment: Stir in lemon juice until the batter reaches a smooth, consistent texture.
- Baking Process: Fill cupcake liners three-quarters full and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick emerges clean when inserted.
- Cooling Stage: Rest cupcakes in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Frosting Creation: Whip mascarpone cheese, lemon curd, and finely chopped herbs until smooth and well-integrated.
- Decoration: Generously pipe herbed mascarpone frosting onto fully cooled cupcakes and garnish with delicate lemon zest or miniature herb sprigs.
Notes
- Zest Precision: Finely grate lemon zest to avoid bitter white pith, ensuring only the bright yellow outer layer is used for maximum flavor intensity.
- Herb Infusion Technique: Chop rosemary and thyme extremely fine to distribute herbs evenly, preventing overwhelming herb chunks in the cupcake batter.
- Temperature Sensitivity: Allow all ingredients to reach room temperature before mixing, which helps create a smoother, more consistent cupcake texture and prevents potential curdling.
- Frosting Stability Tip: Chill mascarpone frosting for 15-20 minutes before piping to achieve a more stable and manageable consistency for elegant decoration.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 13
- Calories: 357
- Sugar: 23 g
- Sodium: 230 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 47 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg