Lemon Yogurt Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting

I still have my maiden name even though my husband and I have been married over 10 years. The thought of changing to my husband's name was never something that I ever really though about. My husband and I were both working on our master's degrees when we got married and professionally it made more sense to keep my maiden name. Plus I joked with my husband that I wasn't property and there was no reason I needed a new identity just because we got married. Oftentimes I have to explain to people that yes my husband and I are married, no I did not change my name. Honestly, I find the whole thing a big hassle and not something that makes my marriage any stronger. A commitment is a commitment whether I took his name or not. I'm no more likely to get divorced due to a different last name than if we shared the same. My oldest uses my different last name as a source of pride, he tells people that his mommy is strong enough to be different. I love his saying and it's the perfect description of how I run my life and the values that I want my kids to understand. A unifying bond has nothing to do with a shared last name, it has to do with the love that connects the people within it.

One thing that brings my family together is dessert. We all love dessert. My husband is picky about the kind of dessert, but my kids and I will pretty much eat anything with sugar. Since sugar should be eaten in moderation, we don't enjoy dessert all the time. When I do make sweet goods I also try to modify the ingredients to be healthier by using alternative flours and natural sugars. Recently I tried a new recipe for Lemon Yogurt Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting. The recipe is as follows.

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living.

Lemon Yogurt Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting

Recipe Type: Dessert

Preparation Time: 0h, 15m

Cooking Time: 0h, 20m

Lemon Yogurt Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon grate lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest.
4. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes.
5. Add in lemon juice, vanilla, and egg.
6. Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients.
7. Add yogurt just until the batter comes together.
8. In a paper lined or greased muffin tin add the batter to each cup 3/4 of the way full.
9. Bake 18-20 minutes.
10. Let cool before frosting.

Fresh Raspberry Frosting

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Place berries and sugar in a food processor and puree.
2. Using a sieve or cheesecloth pass mixture through pressing out solids.
3. Beat butter until fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.
4. Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time.
5. Add berries until frosting is light and fluffy.
6. Store in the fridge for up to two days.

Tips: 

• Paper liners make it much easier to take the cupcakes out of the muffin tin. 
• I have used both Greek yogurt and regular and they both worked well, plus the Greek yogurt has added protein. 
• Don't worry if a few seeds get into the frosting, after they are pureed in the food processor they really aren't noticeable. 
• I tried the frosting with a small amount of almond extract and it was delicious. A small amount of vanilla extract would also work. 

Basil Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting

I wish that the internet would turn into a more grown-up version of its current self. As many of you may have noticed I have taken a little time away from blogging. The last year blogging has lost some of the charm it had when I first started (which was a while ago now). My kids were younger when I started, my youngest still took naps, and my oldest hadn't yet started school. I also feel that the internet has changed dramatically. While I love to talk about certain aspects of my life, I am a little burnt out of the over sharing and general debate nature that the internet and social media in particular have taken on. I really hate controversy. When possible I avoid it because 99 percent of the time I have vastly different opinions than everyone else. I grew up in Seattle in a very liberal household, went to a beyond liberal arts school (the same school k-12 with only 300 students), paid my own way through undergraduate and graduate school, and became the first person in my family to graduate college. I grew up very poor, we stood in line at the church food bank most weeks and my father worked his whole life in jobs that barely paid enough to survive. My opinions are a little crazy according to my husband, I rarely agree with any political party and would be perfectly happy avoiding contact with people with overzealous opinions (debating other people rarely leads to any kind of change of opinions). So the internet and I have had to have less contact. I honestly find social media and the internet a little tiring these days. I wish that people could learn the fine act of knowing when to keep their opinions to themselves, not everything has to be made into an argument or debate. Sometimes a simple 'Have a nice day' is just that and nothing more. I guess I am waiting for the internet to grow up, I'm too old to deal with all the drama.

My garden has been growing like crazy and I am swimming in fresh herbs. While I love basil, I get tried of making pesto over and over again so I decided to try a dessert recipe using the abundance of fresh garden basil I currently possess. I came up with the following recipe for Chocolate Basil Cake with Buttercream Frosting. Enjoy!

Basil Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting

Recipe Type: Dessert

Preparation Time: 0h, 15m

Cooking Time: 0h, 25m

Total Time: 0h, 40m

Yield: Serves 9

Adapted from The Food Network and Powerhungry.com

Basil Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten free replacement)
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons whipping cream

Cooking Directions

1. Grease a 9 inch cake pan.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a food processor chop the basil and sugar until finely chopped.
4. Combine the basil/sugar mixture, melted butter, and cocoa powder until blended. Add the eggs one at a time, and whisk until smooth.
5. Add the vanilla.
6. In another bowl whisk the baking soda, salt and flour until blended.
7. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
8. Add hot water and stir just until combined (do not over stir or your cake will be flat).
9. Pour batter into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.
10. After the cake has cooled make frosting.
11. In a standing mixer whisk butter and sugar together on low speed until blended. Turn up speed to medium and mix another 3 minutes.
12. Add cream and vanilla, beat for another 1-2 minutes on medium. Add more cream if consistency is too thick to spread.
13. Spread cake with frosting and enjoy!

My boys both start school in a week and a half so for the first time in 9 years I will have the house to myself for at least a couple of hours a day. I should have more frequent posts in the next couple of months I promise.