Labneh cupcakes

January 8, 2015  •  Category:

cupcake

cupcake

I usually have a jar of labneh in the fridge at all times here in Lebanon. In the US, I make it from scratch usually or buy it on my trips to the Middle-Eastern store. I decided out of the blue to make some cupcakes, thinking of a famous Texan cake, the Seven-up Cake, that ladies used to make for potlucks and bake sales. Except I wanted to use a bottle of bitter lemon tonic water I had, to add that extra lemony taste.


The last few minutes of baking, the aroma coming out of the oven was faintly lemony and delicate. Very enticing.

INGREDIENTS: 12 cupcakes

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

rind of 2 lemons or limes or both

6 ounces oil

2 ounces bitter lemon tonic water or seven-up

3/4 cup labneh

Preheat the oven to 350F

1. Sift all the dry ingredients and whisk to combine and set aside. Place the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat till thick and doubled in volume and pale yellow. Gradually while beating add the oil, lemon or lime rind, tonic water or seven-up, and labneh. Add the flour mixture till combined. Pour the batter into cupcake molds (3/4 full) and bake about 15 minutes till puffed-up and thoroughly cooked (a cake tester will come out clean). Cool and serve.

Comments

11 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Rosa says:

    Delightful! Your cupcakes look very tempting and so fluffy.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  2. Velva says:

    Very nice! Bitter lemon tonic? Love that too. Cupcakes are fun and wonderful to share.

    Happy New Year!

    Velva

  3. Elizabeth says:

    Wow these would be deliciously tart and lemony and look like they have a wonderful texture.

  4. Krista says:

    These sound so good, especially on the hot summer days we’re having. ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Alicia (foodycat) says:

    They sound great! The combination of bitter lemon and labneh must make them so fluffy and moist!

  6. Sylva T. says:

    These sound lovely with the twist of adding yogurt! Love it!!

  7. Sylva T. says:

    I meant Labneh Joumana Thanks

  8. Susan says:

    They look so soft and moist, Joumana! I had never heard of baking with Seven Up and your bitter tonic water sounds like a very delicious alternative.

  9. Joumana says:

    @Alicia: I like to drink Lemon Bitter tonic water and I thought “why not using in the cakes instead of seven-up, it might make them taste lemony”. Anyway, I am glad I did!
    @Susan: yes, that is a classic in Texas, the seven-up and the cola cakes too! What can I say, Texans are mavericks even in baking ๐Ÿ™‚
    @sylva: I added the labneh, which is drained yogurt, thick, labneh from a jar and it worked fine.
    @Elizabeth: their texture was soft and a bit spongy, and the taste was rich and mellow, with a lemony undertaste.
    @Krista: I enjoyed them here with tea, and we are having cold days! ๐Ÿ™‚
    @Oui, Chef: Actually, people say that it allows you to forego baking powder (the carbonation). I did not want to chance it so I included it anyhow. I just prefer lemon bitter flavor to seven-up which I find bland and too sweet. To each his own ๐Ÿ™‚

  10. Oui, Chef says:

    Leave it to Texans to come up with a Seven-Up cake. I’m quite sure that I’d much prefer your version!

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