Recipe: Lemon Chiffon Cupcakes with Frosty Lemon Glaze (using cake mix)

LEMON CHIFFON CUPCAKES

5 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 (18.25 ounces) package plain lemon cake mix
6 ounces (3/4 cup) lemon yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons pure lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest
Frosty lemon glaze (recipe follows)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F Line 22 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.

Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a medium-size mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Set the bowl aside.

Place the cake mix, yogurt, oil, egg yolks, lemon juice and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl, and with the same beaters used to beat the egg whites (no need to clean them) blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended.

Turn the beaten egg whites out on top of the batter, and with the rubber spatula fold the whites into the batter until the mixture is light but well combined. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 20-22 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans in the oven.

Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 20-24 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

Prepare Frosty Lemon Glaze. Drizzle the glaze on the top of each cupcake with a spoon. Let the glaze set for at least 5 minutes, then serve.

FROSTY LEMON GLAZE
Makes 1 1/4 cups, enough to glaze 24 cupcakes (2 1/2-inch size)

3 large lemons, juiced (about 6 tablespoons juice)
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Place the lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and simmer, uncovered, until the juice has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Whisk in the sugar until all the lumps disappear. Let the pan rest for the glaze to cool, 15 minutes. Spoon over the cupcakes of your choice.

Makes 20-22 cupcakes (2 1/2 inches each)
Source: Cupcakes! From the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn