Lemon Cupcakes

I wanted to serve my cranberry-apple-fennel compote over some dessert item, and I decided on some kind of cake. I thought about making a box cake but I really hate to do that when I actually have time to bake, so I made lemon cupcakes from scratch instead.

These aren't super lemony cupcakes as I only add the zest of one lemon; if you want a more intense lemon flavor, you can add the juice of the lemon as well (I used a meyer lemon since I had some left over from the compote recipe). You'll also notice I use soy milk in this recipe--if you are not a lactard like myself, feel free to use the real stuff.

Lemon Cupcakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup soy milk
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/4 cups flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12-muffin tin.
2. Cream margarine with sugar until smooth and fluffy; add eggs one at a time and blend until combined. Stir in vanilla, soy milk and lemon zest.
3. Sift together salt, BP, BS and flour. Add to wet mixture and stir until combined.
4. Divide batter evenly among muffin tins. Bake in the oven 15-20 minutes or until edges are crispy, muffin tops are browned and toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center.

The cost:
margarine: 1.99
eggs: .33
soy milk: 1.99
other ingredients: .99

Grand total: $5.30; store in the fridge