Lemon Curd Cupcakes

We had our best friends and neighbors, Mel and Marni, over for dinner Saturday night.  It had to have been the most discombobulated meal. I don't know what was wrong with Tim and me?  It was like the Keystone Cops - we are usually so in sync when we have dinner parties and I don't know what happened but what a mess.  Potatoes not done, spilling braised carrots on the floor, a mess.   The only perfect aspect was these amazing Lemon Curd cupcakes.  They were so delicious and beautiful to look at - really good!

Lemon Curd Cupcakes

3 1/2 cups all -purpose flour, sifted
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice ( from 1 to 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
7 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioner's sugar for dusting
Lemon curd ( see below)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, zest, baking powder, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium -high speed, cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy.  Beat in cream cheese. Reduce speed to low. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in lemon juice and vanilla.  Add flour mixture in three batches, beating until just combined after each.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three quarters full.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 28 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.  Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

4. To finish, dust cupcakes with confectioner's sugar.  Fill a pastry bag fitted with a coupler and a medium round tip (#8) with curd.  Insert tip into top of each cupcake, and squeeze some curd below top to fill the inside, the lift the tip and squeeze more curd in a pool on top.  Filled cupcakes can be kept at room temperature up to 1 hour ( or refrigerated a few hours more) before serving.

Lemon Curd
2 whole eggs plus 8 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice ( about 6 lemons)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature.

Combine whole eggs and yolks, sugar, and lemon juice in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Remove from heat.  Add butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition.  Strain through a fine sieve into another bowl, and cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap pressing it directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming.  Refrigerate until chilled and firm , at least 2 hours ( or up to 2 days).