• Preheat oven to 350º F. Line cupcake pan with paper liners and set aside.

Make the cake batter.

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  1 ¼ cup cake flour, 1 ⅛ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl), combine sugar and lemon zest. Using clean hands, rub zest into the sugar to release the lemon oil from the zest.
  ¾ cup plus 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• Add butter to the bowl with the sugar and beat using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, creaming the butter and sugar for 3 minutes until blended and smooth.
  ¼ cup unsalted butter,
• Add egg and yolk, mixing on low speed until blended. Then turn mixer up to high speed and beat for one minute.
  1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk,
• Add vegetable oil and lemon extract and beat until well blended.
  2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• With the mixer running on low speed, add one third of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until blended. Add half of the milk, continuing to stir until combined. Add another third of the flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk, and then the final third of flour mixture, blending slowly between each addition. Gently fold in any final bits of flour, being careful not to over mix the batter.
  ½ cup whole milk,

Bake the cupcakes.

• Fill each cupcake well ⅔ full with batter.
• Bake the cupcakes for 16-18 minutes, or until the tops spring back when gently poked. Let the cupcakes cool completely.

Make the frosting.

• Using a food processor, grind the freeze-dried raspberries into a fine powder.
  ¾ cup freeze-dried raspberries
• In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer), beat butter on medium-high speed until smooth. 
  ¾ cup unsalted butter,
• Add vanilla and salt and beat on medium-high speed until blended.
  1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 pinch fine sea salt
• Add sugar and powdered freeze-dried raspberries slowly – one cup at a time – beating well on medium speed and scraping the bowl often.
  5 ¼ cups confectioners' sugar
• Add milk and beat on high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy.
  3 Tablespoons whole milk

Assemble the cupcakes.

• Core the cooled cupcakes by pressing and twisting an apple corer downward in the center of each cupcake, pressing down just halfway through the cupcake and removing a piece from the center of each cake.
• Use a piping bag with a small round tip or with the end cut off to fill the hole in each cupcake with lemon curd.
  ¼ cup lemon curd
• Use a piping bag fitted with a large round tip to pipe a flat swirl onto each cupcake, covering the lemon curd. Use a small spatula to spread the piped frosting, creating an outer ridge with a bowl in the center.
• Garnish cupcakes with fresh raspberries and serve.