Lemon Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream and a Bit of Raspberry

The other day I had lunch with a friend at a charming country-style restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Square Meal. It’s owned by Yura Mohr, a lovely and incredibly talented woman who has had a take-out shop for the past twenty years and does catering for many high-profile NYC clients. Before that she had a luncheonette in Brooklyn Heights and cooked for The Heights 

Casino, a private club to which I belong (primarily so I can play tennis, a feeble attempt to burn some calories). People at the club still reminisce about the ‘Yura Burger’, possibly the best burger known to mankind, served with housemade ketchup. Her newest venture is Square Meal, a restaurant adjacent to her take-out shop. The food here is unpretentious and amazing. Little cheddar cheese and rosemary biscuits arrive when you are seated, and, like most of 

the food at this restaurant, they are attention-grabbing in their simplicity and deliciousness.  I moved on to a fabulous chicken salad sandwich and a salad with minty pickled zucchini strips. But it’s the dessert that I keep thinking about—a Shaker Lemon Cake with Toasted Almond Whipped Cream and Lemon Sorbet. This cake was a simple lemony Bundt cake, but unbelievably tender and buttery. A light-as-air toasted almond whipped cream and tart  

lemon sorbet brought this dessert into the realm of the spectacular. I wanted the recipe, but I didn’t ask—I thought it would’ve been presumptive of me and didn’t want to put the waiter or Yura’s chef, Buddy, on the spot. So I decided to use Yura’s combination of flavors in my own down-home cupcake: Lemon Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream and a Bit of Raspberry. I deviated a little with the raspberry, but felt the cupcake needed another layer of flavor, and it worked beautifully. Perhaps not as good as that Lemon Shaker Lemon Cake (aren’t the Shakers known for their pies, not their cakes?), but I can only try. Anyhow, next time you’re in New York, stop in at Square Meal for lunch or dinner, and make sure you order dessert, whatever it is—you’ll be very happy you did. www.squaremealnyc.com

Toasted Almond Crunch Cupcakes

Ten years ago I wrote a book called Diner Desserts (Chronicle, 2000), which is a collection of recipes for some of my favorite comfort food-style desserts. I’ve been a lifelong diner fan, and over the years I’ve logged many hours hanging out in diners, eating pie, 

drinking coffee and gossiping with friends. I love the casual atmosphere and conviviality of the diner, and I love those rustic looking diner pies, the chocolate and butterscotch puddings topped with swirls of whipped cream, and the mile-high layer cakes. One 

of the cakes featured in Diner Desserts is a Toasted Almond Brittle Crunch Cake, layers of white cake frosted with an almond buttercream and sprinkled with a finely ground almond brittle crunch. It was inspired by the Good Humor Toasted Almond Ice 

Cream Bar—an iconic frozen treat and one of my top picks from the ice cream truck when I was a kid—and it’s delicious. I decided that this cake would also make a great cupcake, so I revamped the recipe a bit and turned it into a portable version of the original treat. 

The secret is to pipe the buttercream really high on the cupcakes, mimicking the look of the over-the-top-tall diner cake, and giving everyone the generous amount of frosting that they crave.