Guest Blogger Thursday {yep, that's right}

So, I'm a bad blogger.

Well, I guess not so much a bad blogger as a bad scheduler.

I screwed up this week and scheduled two guest bloggers for Wednesday by accident. So instead of taking any spotlight away from either one of these lovely ladies, I decided to do a Guest Blogger Thursday this week too! I just hope that today's guest blogger, Sophie from My Happy Place can forgive me! Make sure everyone stops by her blog and show her some love, she needs a hug from the blogging world because of me.

Let's see what she's cooked up for us today shall we?

Welcome, Sophie from My Happy Place!

Hi everyone! I'm Sophie and I blog over at My Happy Place…

I'd love to thank Kim for letting me guest post today! Isn't her blog just adorable?!

I'm 14, homeschooled, and right now, I'm living in Namibia, Africa where

my family and I are missionaries… 

I have a passion for food, photography, anything 

vintage-y, and Paris, France. 

I'm often asked how I started baking at such a young age…

Well I come from a long line of bakers- 

My great grandma {I've only heard}, my grandma, and my mom

 are all AMAZING cooks and bakers. 

It's no surprise I kept that line going… :) 

Until about two years or so ago, I just occasionally helped my

mom or my grandma in the kitchen. I never really did any baking of my own.

When I started baking on my own, I instantly realized how much I loved

the feeling of taking a fragrant pan of cookies, muffins, or cake out of the oven. 

I then realized I wanted somewhere to share my recipes…

And that my friends, is how I started my blog.

At first I had my family and friends as followers, but now

I'm so blessed to have many more that I only wish I knew personally. 

Anyhoo…

I obviously was not going to stop by without sharing a yummy recipe!

Since it's almost summer, I've been thinking about

all the lemony recipes out there… I have a feeling this was

the first of many:) 

These cupcakes were a HIT with anyone who ate them! Just be careful not to shred

the white part of the lemon, because it causes an icky, bitter taste. I made that mistake,

 but when everyone else tasted them, 

they said they could hardly notice it… And before I knew it- the whole

pan had magically disappeared! 

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

2 1/4 c. cake flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 c. milk

4 egg whites

1/2 tsp. lemon extract 

{I used the juice of about 1 lemon since the lemon extract here tastes not very appetizing…

I thought it tasted like cleaner. And no one in the right mind would like to eat cleaner-flavored cupcakes!}

1 1/2 c. sugar

zest of 2 lemons

1 stick butter

1 tsp. vanilla

Frosting:

2 {8 oz.} pkgs. cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

2 lbs. powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

juice of one lemon

Preheat oven to 350ºF and spray of line a muffin tin. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk milk and egg whites in a medium two. Put the sugary and lemon zest in a bowl and rub together until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add butter. Beat in extracts, then add 1/3 of the flour. Beat in half of the milk egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients. Add the rest of the milk and eggs and add the last of the dry. Place the batter into the cupcake tins. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. 

Let cool before frosting. Top with shredded coconut.

Bon Appetite! 

Thanks for having me Kim!

Loves,

Sophie