Day four of baking out of Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious has arrive. If you are following along with your own copy this recipe can be found on page 181, if not, I’ve included it below. I adapted this recipe a little by using butter in place of margarine and lemon zest instead of lemon extract. With the frosting, I added one cup of confectioner’s sugar and a splash of milk, to make it less cream cheesy. I also placed the filling in a zip lock bag and cut a corner off to make for easier dispensing.

  

    This was a fun recipe to make today, I forgot how much fun cupcakes can be. I can’t even remember the last time I made them, so I guess it’s long overdue!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1. Non-stick cooking spray
   

FILLING

1. 1/4 frozen raspberries, thawed
   

2. 2 tbsp beet puree
   

3. 2 tbsp confectioner’s sugar
   

4. 1 tbsp margarine
   

BATTER

1. 1 up sugar
   

2. 1/2 cup milk
   

3. 1/2 cup squash puree
   

4. 1/3 cup vegetable oil
   

5. 2 large egg whites
   

6. 2 tbsp lemon juice
   

7. 1 tsp lemon extract
   

8. 2 cups all purpose flour
   

9. 2 tsp baking powder
   

10. 1/4 tsp salt
    

FROSTING (OPTIONAL)

1. 1 (8 ounce, 250g) cream cheese
   

2. 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
   

3. 1 tsp lemon extract
   

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.
   

1. For the filling, puree the raspberries, beet puree, sugar and margarine in a blender or food processor; set aside.
   

1. For the batter, beat the sugar in a large bowl with the milk, squash puree, oil, egg whites, lemon juice, and lemon extract until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, then mix until incorporated
   

1. Using about 1/2 the batter, fill each muffin cup one-third full. Dot each with the raspberry filling, then cover with the rest of the batter.
   

1. Bake until the tops of the cupcakes are lightly browned and spring back to the touch, 20-25 minutes. Turn the cupcakes out onto a rack to cool.
   

1. For the frosting, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon extract. spread the frosting over the cooled cupcakes.
   

       If you area new reader, I have decided this week (December 14-20) to FINALLY put good use to this recipe book I bought ages ago, Deceptively Delicious. In it, Seinfeld demonstrates how by simply adding vegetable or fruit purees to recipes, you can increase the nutritional value and no one will even know the difference! She has a wide array of information in this unconventional “cookbook”. It’s loaded with lots of recipes for breakfast, mealtime and dessert’s as well has instructional how-to’s on preparing the purees. To buy the book, click here.