Firstly, mill the flour. I like to use all soft white wheat.

Then, add the starch, baking powder, and salt (if using unsalted butter) to the flour, and stir to combine. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, add room temperature butter and sugar. Cream together for 3-5 minutes until it becomes lighter in color, and increases in volume. Also, make sure to scrape the sides down as needed for even mixing.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing a little between each egg. Then, after all the eggs are incorporated, beat until mixture becomes fluffy (about 1-2 minutes more.)

Then, add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix until well combined.

Now, it is time to add in your flour mixture. Slowly mix in half the flour without overmixing.

Then, add in the whole milk, mix in just a little.

Lastly, add in the rest of the flour, and fold in with a spatula just until there is no dry flour mixture left. Don’t overmix it will deflate all the air you put in the cake, and make it tough.

Preheat the oven to 350*F.

Let the lemon cupcake batter sit and allow the fresh milled flour to start absorbing all the liquid while the oven preheats. (15 mins or so.)

Line the cupcake tins with liners.

Fill each cupcake liner with about 1/4 cup of batter . It should fill the liner about 2/3rds of the way full. This will allow room for the cupcakes to rise.

Bake for 18-22 minutes. This baking time will vary, but make sure to check with a toothpick for doneness. Pull them out as soon as the toothpick is clean. Over baking will cause dry and/or crumbly cupcakes.

Allow the cupcakes to cook in the pan for about 10 minutes.

Then, remove them from the pan, and onto a cooling wire rack to finish cooling the rest of the way.

Make sure they are completely cooled before frosting the cupcakes.

To make the lemon & vanilla bean buttercream, in a clean bowl in a stand mixer, add room temperature butter, salt, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and vanilla beans from the pod. (but, not the pod)

Then, mix on low speed for a few minutes until the ingredients are incorporated. Once combined, then turn up the speed to medium-high/high and mix until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed for even mixing.

Adjust the sweetness by adding more or less powdered sugar. Then, slightly thin the buttercream buy adding whole milk a little at a time. Once, the buttercream is the sweetness, and thickness you prefer, it is done. Don’t frost the cupcakes until they have completely cooled.

Enjoy!