Although my favorite ingredient hands down is chocolate, this week I decided to change it up a bit and go for a twist–a lemony twist to be exact. For my friends at school I decided to make vanilla cupcakes with a graham cracker crust,  topped with a marshmallow and lemon glaze.

Don’t fret! While these delicious treats may seem complicated and intricate,  they proved to be quite simple and fun with a little help of patience. The key to making these cupcakes is planning your time wisely, because if you do the results is lemony goodness. I promise!

The vanilla cupcake recipe listed below is my favorite because it’s a very authentic recipe, calling for the use of real vanilla beans for the cakes rather than simply just vanilla extract. Why am I so drawn to this? Visually, the vanilla bean specks  give the cupcakes a very genuine feel to them. In regards to taste, there is something about using actual vanilla beans rather than only vanilla extract that amplifies the vanilla flavor. Especially if you want vanilla to be the focal point of the flavor of the dessert  (which was my goal)  this recipe is the best way to go. If not, any vanilla cupcake recipe will work as well. But trust me, using vanilla bean isn’t as scary as it seems and the effort will be worth it in the end!

Partially due to leftover graham crackers from a s’mores day at my aunt’s house and partially due to a desire to spice up my cupcakes, I opted for a graham cracker crust for the treats rather than solely having the frosting and cake. And from the demands for more cupcakes, I’m pretty sure that decision was a success. Just like the vanilla bean addition, taking the time to crush up graham crackers and making the crust for the cupcakes will not be regrettable. Also, your friends will think you are a master baker when in fact all that you do is crush up some of the crackers, add sugar and melted butter, and then put them into the cupcake tins.

As I was stitching together the recipe, my initial plan was a s’mores-themed cupcake where the vanilla cupcakes and graham crackers would be topped with a marshmallow and chocolate frosting. But halfway through my baking process, I realized that because the vanilla cupcakes were so dense, an addition of chocolate frosting might detract from the focus point of my cupcakes: the vanilla bean. So after discussing my dilemma with my aunt, I ended up stealing her recipe for a delicious lemon glaze. It’s so light and tarty, the glaze wouldn’t overpower the vanilla bean flavor and instead would complement the whole ensemble.

In some ways the cupcake turned out to be a sort of lemon meringue pie in cupcake form. Honestly, you won’t regret taking the time to makes these heaven-in-a-cup because your friends and family will adore you for it. Also, if you want to tweak the recipe you can add lemon juice to the actually cupcake if you are like some who adore lemony treats. Either way, you can’t go wrong with these cupcakes, so make them! What have you got to lose?

The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
Yield: 24 cupcakes

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup full-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon pure (not imitation) vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup whole milk

Graham Cracker Crust:

1. 1/4 cup sugar
2. 1/3 cup melted butter
3. 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 squares)
4. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
5. Place graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl; stir until well combined.
6. Place 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use the bottom of a small glass to pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner.
7. In a small bowl, combine sugar and seeds from the vanilla bean. (For those of you who are new to using vanilla beans, check out this video to learn how to get the seeds out of the bean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD3zH-43duA&feature=youtu.be)
8. Using the back of a spoon, move around the bowl and apply pressure to break up any clumps of seeds and to better infuse the vanilla flavor into the sugar. Set aside.
9. In a medium-sized mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
10. Add the vanilla bean sugar and mix until well combined.
11. Add butter and mix on medium-low speed for three minutes.  Because there is so little butter, you’ll end up with a very fine crumb texture.
12. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
13. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.
14. Slowly add milk and mix on low speed until just combined.  The batter will be liquid.  (Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything wrong.  It’s supposed to be that way.)
15. Fill cupcake liners up to the 1/2 way mark.
16. Bake for 14 minutes before placing a marshmallow on the top of eat cupcake. After two more minutes, test to see if they are done. They are done when a toothpick comes out without wet batter stuck to it.  The cupcakes should appear white with specks of vanilla bean. They should not turn a golden brown.  If they are not done, test again in two minutes. Repeat.
17. When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from the tins and leave them on a cooling rack (or just on your counter if you don’t own a cooling rack) to cool.

Aunties Kimberly’s Lemon Glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 lemon

1. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Zest the whole lemon. Then cut the lemon in half and, after taking out the seeds, squeeze the juice into the bowl of sugar until you get most of the juice out. Stir the mixture until you get a thick, soupy consistency.
3. Drizzle the glaze onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle the lemon zest, or rind, on top of the cupcakes. Then set aside until the glaze hardens. Enjoy!

[spoiler title=”Sources”]·         “Vanilla Cupcake Recipe-The Ultimate Cupcake Test.” Cupcake Project. Blogger, 24 September 2011. Web. Web. 13 Sep. 2012. <http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2011/09/ultimate-vanilla-cupcake-test-baked-by.html>.
·         Stewart, Martha. “Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow.” Martha Stewart. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. , n. d. Web. Web. 13 Sep. 2012. <http://www.marthastewart.com/332838/chocolate-graham-cracker-cupcakes-with-t>.[/spoiler]