lemony cupcakes with a lemon cream cheese buttercream

Some friends are getting married in June. They like lemon, so I made these for them to try out. They were a hit and I'm going to make them again this week. The cake is my favorite kind of cake; sturdy, but tender and stays moist. The cream cheese frosting was tangy and not overly sweet.

Pie a Month #2. Chocolate pie.

This is a simple chocolate pie. It's dense and fudgy with a touch of buttermilk to offset the sweetness. Top with some fresh whipped cream or ice cream. Whichever you have on hand will do the trick.





Filling

1 1/2 cups chopped bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate (you can also use
chocolate chips)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Your favorite pie crust. I like to use less crust and let the chocolate pie be the star.

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.

Melt the chocolate in a double broiler until smooth.

Whisk together the sugar, flour, espresso powder and salt until well combined and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until frothy and add buttermilk and vanilla. Add the sugar mix to the eggs mix and whisk for about 5 minutes or use a hand mixer. Add the chocolate to the batter.

Pour batter into the piecrust; you will have some batter left over. You can toss it out or bake it in another container. Place pie in oven on middle rack. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 25 minutes, or until the pie is crisp on top and a knife inserted in the center comes out with just a bit of moist chocolate on it.

Take it out of the oven and cool completely. Let stand at least 1 hour before serving. If not eating immediately, refrigerate pie. I serve this room temperature, but you can serve it cold as well. Keeps about a week in the fridge. I top it with homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.