Recipe: Lemon Lime Zucchini Cupcakes

You can add this recipe to your "zucchini" file, as yet another way to use up that plentiful vegetable! This is quick and easy, and the whole wheat flour takes a bit of the edge off the sweetness. I've iced them with an icing based on this lime buttercream topping from recipegirl.com. I like to think that the wholesomeness of the whole wheat flour and zucchini make up for the unwholesomeness of the rich lime buttercream icing, but who am I kidding? ;) The icing will cover a double batch of cupcakes.

Lemon Zucchini Cake

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup grated zucchini
zest of one lemon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon extract

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Beat the eggs until they are frothy. Mix in the cooking oil and sugar. Add the zucchini, lemon zest, vanilla, and lemon extract. Stir well.

Sift the remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl. Pour into zucchini mixture and stir to moisten.

Line the cupcake pan with wrappers. Fill each one 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool completely before adding icing.

Makes approximately 18 standard cupcakes.

Lime Buttercream Icing

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, room temperature
5 cups icing sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice zest
juice of one lime
3/4 tsp lime oil
finishing salt, to garnish

Cream butter until it is fluffy. Add the icing sugar, lemon juice, lime zest and juice, lime oil, and salt. Beat until well-blended and creamy. Icing can be piped or spread onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle the tops lightly with finishing salt.

This makes enough icing to cover approximately 2.5 dozen cupcakes.