Lemon Cream Filled Cupcakes

Let's talk summer food.

What foods just scream summer to you?  Burgers on the grill, ice cream in the sunlight, a nice big smoothie?

For me, it's fruit that reminds me of summer most.  Juicy peaches, triangles of watermelon, fresh berries, and the refreshing taste of lemon.

As the weather's been warming all of those flavors have been practically begging to be used in some kind of dessert.  Unfortunately, berries and peaches still aren't quite plentiful enough to use and I'm sort of at a loss for how to use watermelon (If you have any ideas don't hesitate to share them!).  That leaves me with lemon.

I'm super weird and love lemon on/in everything.  I use it instead of salad dressing, squeeze it into my water, and even eat it plain!  I've got some sort of crazy sour tolerance.

Because of this, I sometimes forget to use lemon in baked goods.  Luckily, my dad reminded me of how awesome lemon desserts are when he requested cupcakes with lemon cream for his birthday dessert.  I was happy to take on the challenge.

Let me just say that these cupcakes are such a summer dessert!

A light vanilla cupcakes filled with refreshing lemon cream.  This is not a dessert that will leave you feeling heavy or weighed down in the least.  Which is good because now that the weathers warmer all I want to do is be outside in the sunshine, and that isn't too fun when you feel like you're going to explode!

Basically, these cupcakes = your new favorite summer dessert

Lemon Cream Cupcakes
For Cupcakes:

• 1 cup oat flour (you can make your own by combining 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp flax + 1 tbsp flax, divided
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup vanilla or plain yogurt (a vegan version will work as well)
• 3/4 - 1 cup milk (start with 3/4 and add more if batter seems too thick)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

For Cream:

• 180 g silken tofu (I used the shelf stable kind from Trader Joes)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp flour

To Make Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, 1 tbsp flax, and cornstarch.  Mix together.
3. In another bowl, mix together 1 tbsp flax, honey, vanilla, yogurt, milk (3/4 cup to start), and oil.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until a smooth batter forms.  If you are having trouble mixing, add 2 tbsp of milk at a time until batter becomes smooth. (You should only need up to 1 cup milk)
4. Divide batter between 10-12 lined muffin tins and fill about 3/4 of the way.  When the cupcakes are done baking they will not have domed tops, but instead a slight cup to put the cream in.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Set aside to cool completely.

To Make Cream:

1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.  Blend until completely smooth.  Mixture will look thin, but it will firm up as it chills.
2. Transfer mixture to container and chill in fridge overnight, or for at least 8 hours.  It should be thick after that time.
3. Use a knife to cut a small hole out of one cupcake.  Fill the hole with cream, and then add a bit more on top to cover the top of the cupcake.  If desired, add a bit of lemon zest.  This process is shown in the picture below.
4. Repeat will all cupcakes.
5. Store cupcakes in fridge until serving time.  Over this time the cream will firm up even more.

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Lemon Zucchini Bread