Bake it
Cucumber Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing
If you’ve never thought to bake with cucumber, this recipe will open up a whole new world of cucumber possibilities! Cucumber purée adds a delicate and subtle flavour while making for a moist batter. Paired with lemon and luscious cream cheese icing, this refreshing twist on classic lemon cupcakes will have your taste buds dancing.
Updated
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups coarsely chopped English cucumber (about ½-inch dice), puréed(375 mL)
- ½ cup canola oil (125 mL)
- 1 cup sugar (250 mL)
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest (15 mL)
- 1 tsp lemon extract (5 mL)
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¾ cups flour (425 mL)
- 2 tsp baking powder (10 mL)
Icing
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened (112 g)
- 2 Tbsp canola margarine (30 mL)
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract (2 mL)
- 3 – 4 cups icing sugar (750 mL – 1 L)
Directions
- Line muffin pan with cupcake papers. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Purée cucumbers in food processor to yield ¾ cup (175 mL) purée.
- In large bowl, beat the canola oil, sugar, lemon zest and lemon extract until well mixed. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add 1/3 of flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat well. Add ½ of the pureed cucumber and beat, followed by 1/3 flour mixture, ½ puréed cucumber and then the final 1/3 flour mixture.
- Divide mixture into 12 paper cups. Bake cupcakes for 15 – 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean, when inserted into the centre of one of the cupcakes.
- Remove cupcakes from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Meanwhile, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in canola margarine and lemon extract. Add enough icing sugar, beating well, to reach desired consistency.
- Frost cupcakes with cream cheese icing.
Nutritional Analysis
| Calories | 420 |
|---|---|
| Total Fat | 16.6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3.3 g |
| Cholesterol | 44 mg |
| Sodium | 137 mg |
| Carbohydrates | 65.4 g |
| Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 49.7 g |
| Protein | 3.5 g |
| Potassium | 170 g |
