CUPCAKE BATTER

1 3/4 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup milk
2 1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

LEMON CURD
(recipe follows)

10x sugar, for sprinkling over cupcakes

preheat the oven to 350°. line a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.

sift the flour & the baking powder into a medium bowl. set aside.

in a lg bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. set aside.

in a lg bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter & sugar until light, about 2 minutes. add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, beating well after each addition. the batter should be smooth. beat in the vanilla & nutmeg. fold in the egg whites.

spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling the cups 3/4 full. bake in the center of the oven for 16-20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

to assemble, cut off the dome of each cupcake & set aside. with a tablespoon remove a spoonful of cake from the center of each cupcake. fill each cavity with lemon curd, & spread the top of the cupcake with more lemon curd. cut each cupcake dome in half & lay the two halves on top of a cupcake, cut side facing out, to resemble butterfly wings. sprinkle with 10x sugar.

makes 12 cupcakes

EASY LEMON CURD

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

in a medium heavy saucepan, whisk together the eggs & sugar. whisk in the lemon juice & butter. cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 6-8 minutes. do not let the lemon curd come to a boil.

pour the lemon curd into a heatproof bowl & cover with plastic wrap or waxed paper. refrigerate until chilled & thickened, about 4 hours.