What the debacle was SUPPOSED to be...Lemon Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Got this back when I found the rainbow cupcakes from ourbestbites. I halved the entire recipe (I beat 1 egg and used 1/2 of that with 2 full eggs as suggested by L's mom) and it still made 14 cupcakes.  The batter is SUPER light and fluffy, and the frosting is delicious (I added more lemon juice than recommended--YUM).
**Please note I tweaked the order of ingredients due to my baking debacle.  In its original, the flour immediately follows the butter.  If you are smart, you can figure out where I erred.**
I also didn't figure out the points because I am bringing them to a dinner tonight and sending the rest with L to work tomorrow.  I ate enough of the frosting in process I am pretty sure that this week is shot to hell.  :(  

Lemon Cupcakes

1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) of REAL butter
2 c. sugar

Butter + Sugar creamy-ness

5 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons (just zest the other lemons before you squeeze them)
1 c. buttermilk  (I made buttermilk: 1 TBSP vinegar + milk up to the 1 C line in a measuring cup + sit for 10 minutes)
3 c. cake flour (no substitutions here–you really need the lightness of cake flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda


Preheat oven to 325. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners (I used yellow, although white would also be cute).
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Don’t go skimping here–you want the mixture to be almost white and super fluffy. This is absolutely essential to the outcome of the cake.

Batter.

While butter and sugar are mixing, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. After butter and sugar have mixed sufficiently, With the mixer running, add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition.

Beat in vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
With mixer on low speed, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating until fully incorporated.

Using a standard cookie scoop, place about 2 scoops of batter into each muffin cup. Fill these almost to the top–due to the final texture (again, think super-moist and light pound cake), these cupcakes won’t have a nice, curvy crown, but that’s okay–no one will ever know or care.

Out of the oven

Bake about 20-25 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. You don’t want to overbake these even a bit, or they’ll start to lose their delicious moisture. Remove from oven and cool completely. Frost with lemon buttercream and garnish with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or fresh mint leaves.

The finished product.

Lemon Buttercream
1 1/4 c. butter (2 1/2 sticks)
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 c. powdered sugar

YUM!

Beat butter, lemon rind, and lemon juice in an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating to spreading consistency. Makes 2 3/4 c.