Lemon Cupcakes with Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

To me, nothing signifies the arrival of warm summer months more appropriately than a good lemon dessert--lemon bars, (mmm, lemon bars), lemon cookies, and today, lemon cupcakes!

Today, I celebrated Memorial Day with my family, friends, and a barbecue with tons of delicious food. These cupcakes were the perfect addition to the party mix, and they were so easy to make!

For the sake of time, I started with a base of cake mix and then added some other ingredients to make it taste more delicious and homemade. I hope you enjoy these as much as my guests did! Recipe adapted from Lizzy over at Your Cup of Cake.

Ingredients for Cupcakes:

• 1 box yellow cake mix (you may substitute lemon cake mix)
• 1 cup sour cream (I used light/low-fat sour cream)
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup milk
• ¾ cup oil
• 4 eggs
• Zest of 1 lemon 
• 1 small box instant pudding mix--lemon or vanilla flavor

Directions: 
In a large bowl, mix sour cream, lemon juice, milk and oil together.  Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Add zest, cake mix, and pudding mix slowly while stirring. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 5 minutes at 375; immediately lower temperature to 350 and continue baking for 15- 18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

  For Frosting:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, divided
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar (adjust to taste! Add more if you like sweeter frosting; original recipe calls for 3 cups)
• 1-3 tbsp milk (optional--use if the frosting is too thick)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional--I used it to enhance the lemon flavor)
• 1 tsp lemon zest (also optional)

Directions:

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, heat 1/4 cup butter until browned. (If you've never browned butter, learn how to do so HERE.) Cube up the other half of butter and place in a small bowl, pour browned butter over top and mix until all the butter is melted. 
In a large bowl beat butter, cream cheese, vanilla and sugar until creamy. Add 1-3 T. cold milk if needed to thin to a spreading consistency. Chill until ready to serve, then pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Makes about 2½ cups frosting; recipe adapted from HERE.