Moist Lemon Cupcake Recipe

I feel like the cupcake craze may have come and gone. But I still love cupcakes since they are the perfect portion size. It's hard to find a nice tender crumb with the right amount of moistness from a bakery cupcake.
(Sorry! I don't know about you but moist is one of those words that annoys me but nothing else is really the right adjective!)
I usually make cakes at home since bakery-bought ones tend to be a let down and a waste of calories. Not these little suckers. Lemon lovers, be forewarned, you might not be able to stop at just one. I'm going to try this recipe as a vanilla cupcake to see if they turnout just as good. I served these with my cream cheese frosting but they'd be equally as good with a nice vanilla buttercream. 


Moist & Delicious Little Lemon Cupcakes 
(Adapted from Ina Garten's Lemon Cake Recipe)
Ingredients
Cupcakes
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract


Lemon Syrup:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup water


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. The butter should have "ribbons" running through it. With mixer on medium speed, add eggs 1 at a time and also the lemon zest.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, buttermilk, vanilla and lemon extract. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Scoop batter into cupcake liners inside a muffin pan. I use an ice cream scoop. It works great! Bake about 14 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when poked in the middle of the cupcake.

Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 water in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from muffin pans and set them on a cooling rack. Take a fork and poke holes into the tops of the cupcakes. This will allow the syrup to soak into the cupcake. Liberally brush the syrup on the tops of each cupcake. Allow the cakes to cool completely. Frost when cooled.