Berry Filling:

1. Mash berries together with chia seeds and maple syrup with a fork or pastry blender until berries are pureed. Set aside for chia seeds to absorb the juices and thicken the filling.

Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place cupcake liners into a 12 count muffin pan.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest together in a large mixing bowl. Slowly blend in melted butter, maple syrup/honey, egg and egg yolk, milk and vanilla. Mix until batter is well blended and smooth. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again.
3. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full of batter. Makes between 10-12 cupcakes, depending on how much you fill each cup. Place pan into preheated oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until cake tops are domed and tops spring back when gently pressed. Cupcakes will not be brown, but you don’t want to over bake them or they may be dry. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool slightly before removing the cupcakes.

Lemon Cream Frosting:

1. Take the butter and cream cheese out of the fridge 10-15 minutes before ready to use. Place into a large mixing bowl and beat until fluffy (If you have a whisk attachment, that works well.) Add half the honey, lemon juice/zest and continue to beat after until fluffy. This frosting will be mildly sweet. Taste and mix in more honey if needed. Continue to beat until frosting is light and fluffy. Refrigerate until needed.

Lemon Curd:

1. Into a small saucepan, whisk together egg, egg yolk, honey, lemon juice, and zest until well combined. Place over medium low heat and stir often until mixture begins to thicken, between 5-7 minutes. Careful to heat it slowly or the eggs can curdle. When it’s finished, it should be thick and coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in butter/coconut oil until blended. If mixture gets chunky bits from the eggs, make sure to strain it through a sieve before using. Chill in the fridge until ready to use.

Putting It Together:

1. Use a small paring knife to cut a round whole out of the center of the cupcake for the filling. Go ahead. Eat the cake scraps. You know you want to. 😉
2. Place berry-chia jam into a plastic piping bag or sandwich baggie and cut a small tip or corner of the bag. Place the tip into the cupcake and pipe until it fills to the top. Do the same for the rest of the cupcakes.
3. You can scoop a dollop of frosting onto each cupcake or pipe the frosting on. I used a large pastry bag and a Wilton 1M tip to pipe swirls onto each cupcake. If you plan on putting berries on top, don’t put too much frosting or it will overflow.
4. Place a few berries on top or a drizzle of lemon curd (optional.)