Dessert - Lightly Lemon Cupcakes

I was really in a big baking mood on Monday, so I decided to make a couple new (to me anyways!) baking recipes. We were having a little celebration at my Monday night hula class since the professional hula dancing girls in our class had completed their first show for the year! (Congrats to them, they rock!) I decided to bring a treat to share, and since I'd been wanting to try these cupcakes, they were it!

Let me just preface by saying that these turned out pretty good, and everyone seemed to like them (including Matt), but they were a bit different that I expected. The cake was denser than I thought it would be, and the frosting more akin to whipped cream. They were not bad cupcakes, but definitely not the best I have ever made.

I was a bit disappointed as well with how the cupcakes dried out a lot after only a day! We put them in the fridge due to the dairy content in the frosting...and boy, was that a bad idea.

Here's a link to the full recipe for cupcakes and frosting from the Betty Crocker website.
The recipe uses Bisquick, something I don't normally use to make cupcakes, so maybe that's why it wasn't my favorite. However, on the positive it was a very quick recipe to make. Also, the lemon flavor was pretty slight, not very in-your-face.

Well, let's talk about the "frosting" a bit, since I do think it was the high point of the cupcake. My problem was that it was more like whipped cream, and less of a frosting!! I guess I would use this to top something that would usually be topped with whipped cream.

To make the "frosting" (read: whipped cream), you need a couple things:
-1 pint (2 cups) heavy whipping cream
-1 box (4-serving size) lemon flavored instant pudding and pie filling mix
-1/4 cup milk (we used skim)

You first put the whipping cream in your blender with the whisk attachment. Set on medium speed and continue to whip until slightly thickened. Add the pudding mix and milk, then beat on high until stiff peaks form.

A simple whipped cream recipe, really! I think it would be really tasty with pistachio or chocolate pudding added instead of the lemon pudding. In my opinion, this "frosting" would be best as a topping for a pie or ice cream sundae.

I'd love to hear if you experiment with this recipe and how it turns out! I will likely try the frosting recipe again, probably with pistachio pudding, if I can figure out a good pie to "match" in flavor.