Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes - Food duch*ess (2024)

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posted by Amieon May 20, 2019 (updated Oct 29, 2019) 3 comments »

These Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes are a nod to the Duke and duch*ess of Sussex’s wedding last year! Their wedding featured a lemon and elderflower cake. After trying this combination, I was absolutely hooked and knew I needed to make them into a cupcake version. These cute little cupcakes feature lemon flavored cupcakes, which are colored a delightful and bright in flavor, alongside an elderflower Swiss meringue buttercream! The pairing of the bright citrusy lemon flavors with the sweet floral notes of the elderflower are absolutely wonderful. Delightfully sweet while remaining bright and flavorful!

Oil Instead of Butter

When looking at this recipe for Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes, you will notice that I didn’t use butter, and instead used oil as my fat. There are many reasons for this. First, its easy. Using oil instead of butter makes such easy work of a cake. There’s no need to plan in advance and pull out the butter and you do not need to worryabout properly creaming the butter and sugar together to ensure proper rising. But the reasoning for using oil is beyond this – 9 times out of 10 it results in a superior texture! Oil-based cakes are much more moist and tender, and actually less dense as well! Oil, by volume, is lighter in weight than butter is, and it also does a better job at encapsulating the flour molecules better than butter does. This superior encapsulation results in better lubrication and less gluten formation!

What all this means is that the cake will be more tender and more moist! While butter provides excellent flavor in a cake or cupcake recipe, if I can get away with using oil, I will always choose oil. And, in this Lemon and Elderflower Cupcake recipe, which is obviously heavily flavored with lemon, you’re really not going to miss the flavor that butter provides. It’s a win-win!

How to Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Although Swiss Meringue Buttercream can seem a little daunting at first, it is actually fairly easy to make! However, it does take a little bit longer than your traditional American buttercream. The benefit, however, is the flavor and texture of Swiss Meringue Buttercream is out of this world! It is delicately sweet and sooo silky and smooth, making it an excellent pair to the bright floral flavors of the Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes.

To make Elderflower Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
Add egg whites and sugar into a metal bowl (you can use the metal bowl of your stand mixer) and place over top of a pot with 1-2” of simmering water (do not use rapidly boiling water). Whisk the eggs and sugar constantly until it reaches 160°F or 70°C. Remove from the heat and place into stand mixer and whip on high (using whip attachment) for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes the meringue should look glossy, thick, and hold stiff peaks. At this point, turn your stand mixer to low and begin adding the butter in 1 tbsp at a time, letting the butter incorporate a bit before the next addition. After all the butter has been added turn the stand mixer back onto high. It may start to look soupy, curdled, and loose – this is okay, just keep beating! Continue to beat until the Swiss meringue buttercream comes together and looks smooth. Then add in the elderflower liqueur and the salt!

Variations and Substitutions

• If you do not want to make a Swiss meringue buttercream, feel free to use your regular buttercream recipe, add just add the elderflower liqueur instead of vanilla (use about 3-4 tbsp per 1 cup of butter).
• You can substitute elderflower cordial for elderflower liqueur.

originally published on May 20, 2019 (last updated Oct 29, 2019)

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