Honey Lemon Cupcakes

These Honey Lemon Cupcakes are light, zesty, and oh so delicious! This post was sponsored by Collective Bias® Social Fabric Community® to help others learn the many uses of honey but, as always, the recipe and the opinions in this post are my own. #DonVictorHoney #Don Victor #CollectiveBias

Honey Lemon Cupcakes

I have a special place in my heart for honey. It's a part of my blog's name, and you can read a little more about the story of my blog's name here and it's something that I seem to collect because I always have between 5-7 jars of it! Honey is something that I use in my every day life and incorporate into my recipes-- it's a little secret that I learned from my brother for fried rice (recipe coming in the future) and whenever I'm hungry, it's always drizzled onto a tortilla slathered with peanut butter! Honey is incredible when it's marinated with soy sauce and chicken thighs. Honey is something that I find comforting that I turn to when I'm not feeling well-- hot water with lemon and honey soothes a sore throat. Honey is something that I use to also create special dishes, like Don Victor's Honey that contains honeycomb inside the jar which adds a depth of flavor and sophistication to honey I used for these special cupcakes that I'm sharing with you today!

Don Victor Honey is not located in the usual place that honey is found.I found this Don Victor Honey in a unique location at Walmart-- the Hispanic aisle!! The Hispanic aisle is a great place to find new products! This is a great section to try new foods, like cookies, and is also a great place to find everyday products. This is actually the section where I buy my instant coffee (for baking) and my anise!

I also received Don Victor's Whipped Honey with Cinnamon and other whipped honeys to test out. Whipped honey is amazing! If you haven't tried it, it's something that you must try! Whipped honey has a different texture than regular honey. I buy whipped honey from one of the local honey sellers at the farmer's market at work, so I am thrilled to find out that Don Victor offers honey as well and in different flavors such as cocoa, caramel, and cinnamon. These flavored honeys are absolutely wonderful on buttered toast, biscuits, tortillas-- especially when warm so that the honey gets slightly melty. It's also wonderful when it's melted and drizzled on ice cream!

I decided to make these Honey Lemon Cupcakes for two reasons: 1) I recently recovered from a cold where all I wanted was honey and lemon, and 2) my mom's birthday was coming up and one of her favorite desserts are cupcakes. So not only do these cupcakes add a little comfort, they also are light and zesty that add a little celebration whenever you eat them.

These cupcakes are light in texture as well as light in flavor. There's zest from the lemon, warmth from the cinnamon, and a smooth flavor from the honey. All of the flavors go incredible well together and these cupcakes are a tremendous hit with whoever has tried them, even ones who are a little unsure of the flavor combination. These cupcakes are one of the dishes that I've received the most compliments on and is something that will be one of my most requested recipes! It's something that will be in regular rotation for desserts for special celebrations-- they're that good.

You can find more information about USA made Don Victor Honey through their Facebook page or their company website. #DonVictorHoney #DonVictor #CollectiveBias

Honey Lemon Cupcakes 
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Cupcakes:
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
3/4 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c.ups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
zest from 1 lemon

Frosting:
1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 c. honey
3-4 c. powdered sugar
honey, for drizzling


For the Honey Lemon Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners (you'll need between 12-16 cupcake liners).

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugar on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and mix until just combined.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon.

In a small bowl, whisk together milk, honey, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest.

Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating until just combined. Add in the milk mixture, then add the remaining flour mixture, mixing until just combined.

Fill baking cups 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.


For the Honey Cream Cheese Frosting:
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, salt, and honey until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Gradually add in the powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Frost the cooled cupcakes. Store cupcakes in the fridge until serving.


Makes 12-16 cupcakes