Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
Originally found in Season's Best Recipe Collection (Spring/Summer 2011)
Zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp canola oil
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup vanilla soymilk
1 Tbsp lemon extract
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg whites
1/4 cup raspberry preserves
3 squares white chocolate for baking
2 tbsp plain yogurt
1 1/2 tsp lemon extract
Fresh raspberries
Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with liners and set aside. Mix together sugar and oil; add zest, yogurt, soymilk, and lemon extract. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Sift into wet ingredients and mix until well blended. Whisk egg whites vigorously until very foamy; fold into batter.
Scoop batter into liners, about 2/3rds of the way full. Drop 1 tsp of preserves into the center of each cupcake and press down lightly. Bake 15-17 minutes, until tops spring back when lightly pressed. Cool for 5 minutes, remove from pan, and allow to cool completely.
Microwave chocolate 45-60 seconds, until almost melted. Stir until smooth. Add yogurt and extract. Dip cupcakes into ganache, coating the tops evenly. Garnish with raspberries.
My Notes:
These cupcakes are very moist and dense. And while I don't typically like white chocolate, the ganache is mixed with enough flavor that it doesn't quite taste like white chocolate. They were a hit among my friends, as usual.
The raspberry preserves will sink to the bottom, so if you want to keep them in the center of the cupcake, I've heard adding some cornstarch to the mix will do the trick.
