Lemon and Raspberry Butterfly Cakes

I took the cupcake recipe from allrecipes.com but I wanted to make these into butterfly cakes so made my own lemon buttercream and added raspberry preserves.

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sour cream

Buttercream

• 1/2 cup butter
• Rind and juice of one lemon
• 4-4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  
• 1/2 cup milk

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add lemon peel and vanilla; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

To make the buttercream:- Mix all of the ingredients together until creamy- add more powdered sugar depending on how you want the consistency of the buttercream.

When cooled, using a sharp knife, cut a circle out of each of the cupcakes and slice this circle in half. Spoon a teaspoon of jam into the center of each cake and then top with the buttercream. Position the halves of the cut circle on top of the cake to resemble a butterfly. Sprinkle with powdered sugar to make pretty!