Lemon Raspberry Themed Desserts

I was asked to help out with a baby shower for a friend over the weekend, and of course, I volunteered to make the desserts. My favorite thing to bake! Since it was May, my first thought was "yellow". So I went with lemon for my flavor and I thought a bright pink would look so pretty against the yellow. So that's where the raspberry/lemon theme for the party came in. 

The colors were so bright and cheerful. I think my favorite dessert spread that I have made to date! And it was the perfect opportunity to try out my new dessert stand.

I made cupcakes with homemade lemon curd and lemon cream cheese frosting and raspberry cheesecakes. The morning of the shower I received a phone call saying that it would be cancelled. She had her baby that morning!

So do you know what I did? I set up my desserts anyways. Yep, maybe it's pathetic, but after all of that work I wanted to see if it really came together before putting everything in the freezer!  Since I only frosted a few of the cupcakes for us to have that day as a treat, I was able to freeze the rest, along with the cheesecakes and the lemon curd.  

Here are the recipes for everything you see in the photos!

Lemon Curd Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

24 cupcakes made with a box of white cake mix (you can make them from scratch, but most of the flavor comes from the lemon curd, so boxed works GREAT and is quicker!)

Filling cupcakes is easy. You just use a frosting bag and fill it with your favorite pudding, jam, or in this case, lemon curd. Attach a round or star tip and insert your tip into your cupcake. Squeeze until you see the cupcake just start to rise. Then stop. You don't want to over-fill the cupcakes or they will crack.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
source Homemade by Holman

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 T lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon zest

Beat together butter, cream cheese and lemon juice on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating on low speed until incorporated. Add lemon zest and increase speed to medium-high and beat until smooth.

Frost cupcakes with a large star tip. Begin on the edges and swirl around until you reach the center. Top with a lemon slice and a raspberry for garnish.

Homemade Lemon Curd
source Homemade by Holman

Lemon curd is so simple and inexpensive to make. It is so delicious, I could eat it with a spoon!

4 egg yolks
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup plus 1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
5 T unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces

Combine everything but the butter in a sauce pan and whisk together. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, scraping the sides of the pan often until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 8 - 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add butter, 1 piece at a time, stirring until incorporated. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the lemon curd and cover with a lid. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.




Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes
source Annie's Eats

For the crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp. sugar
For the raspberry swirl:
6 oz. fresh raspberries
2 tbsp. sugar
For the filling:
2 lbs. cream cheese, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325˚ F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Stir together with a fork until well blended and all the dry ingredients are moistened. Press 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner.

To make the raspberry puree, combine the raspberries and sugar in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth, then pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.

To make the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Blend in the sugar until smooth. Mix in the salt and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

To assemble, spoon 3 tablespoons of the cheesecake batter over the crust in each cupcake liner. Dot a ½ teaspoon of the raspberry puree in a few dots over the cheesecake filling. Use a toothpick or a wooden skewer to lightly swirl and create a marbled effect.

Bake until the filling is set, about 22 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. (They will look quite puffed initially but will return to normal quickly.) Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill for at least 4 hours before serving.