These are my favorite lemon cupcakes. They are moist, tender, have the perfect balance between sweetness and tanginess, and are bursting with lemon flavor. This is an easy, simple recipe with amazing results!
My palate has changed rather drastically in the last couple of years, and while I didn’t like cupcakes and lemon desserts that much, now lemon cupcakes are one of my favorite desserts. Lemon has actually become one of my favorite flavors, and I’ve made several other lemony dessert recipes, like lemon Bundt cake and lemon truffles. Plus, in cupcakes especially, it helps to cut down on the sweetness quite a bit.
These cupcakes are moist, delicate, and full of lemon flavor. The frosting is a simple classic buttercream made with fresh lemon juicy and lemon zest and pairs perfectly with the delicate cake.
How to make lemon cupcakes
This recipe makes enough batter and frosting for 12 standard cupcakes.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another small bowl, toss together sugar and lemon zest until combined.
- Cream the butter and sugar. Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and lemon-sugar mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract. On medium speed, beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Alternatively add the dry and wet ingredients. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Add milk and lemon juice and beat until combined. Add the other half of the dry ingredients and beat slowly until just combined. Do not overmix – the less you mix, the lighter the cupcakes will be.
- Bake. Divide batter evenly between the cups, filling them about ¾ full. Bake at 350°F/180°C for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Optional cupcake filling: If you want to make these cupcakes even more delicious and lemon-y than they already are, you can add fill them with lemon curd. To do this, once the cupcakes are completely cool, use a knife to cut a hole in the center of each cupcake, ½-1/4-inch in diameter. Then, use a piping bag to fill each with lemon curd. Then, frost the tops of the cupcakes as you normally would, covering up the hole in the middle.
Homemade lemon curd can be prepared ahead of time and frozen for a couple of months. I always make a double batch, freeze it, and thaw as much as I need to use for filling cakes, pavlovas, doughnuts, and more.
Frosting lemon cupcakes
I top my lemon cup cakes with my favorite lemon buttercream. It’s rich and creamy and made with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest for amazing fresh flavor. Here’s how to make it:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add ¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar and beat well until smooth. Add cream, lemon juice, and lemon zest and beat until combined and smooth. Add another ¾ cup sugar and beat until completely smooth and fluffy.
- Beat in more sugar as needed, until it’s thick enough to pipe. Frost cupcakes once they’ve cooled.
If you want to try another type of frosting, you can also use:
To make any of these lemon flavored, add either lemon curd or lemon juice and zest to the frosting until you reach the desired taste. I find that 2 teaspoons of zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice or a few tablespoons of lemon curd will do the trick, but feel free to play with the ratios.
Tips for making lemon cupcakes
- Mix the lemon zest with the sugar before creaming with the butter. This is my little trick for bringing out lemon flavor in baked goods. Doing this causes the lemon zest to release its natural oils, which will absorb quickly into the sugar, helping to distribute the flavor throughout the batter. Just be sure when grating the zest that you only grate the yellow skin and not the bitter white pith beneath it.
- Don’t overmix the cupcake batter. This is the secret to light and fluffy cupcakes. Overmixing can make the cupcakes dense and tough. To avoid this, mix the batter as little as possible once you begin adding the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to help incorporate all the ingredients in your mixing bowl.
- To store your cupcakes, keep them in the fridge lightly covered. However, I recommend removing them from the fridge 30 minutes-an hour before serving so the frosting is soft.
Can I freeze lemon cupcakes?
Yes, you can freeze the cupcake bases for up to 2 months, just keep the cupcakes in a closed, freezer-safe container. However, I recommend making the frosting fresh.
More of my favorite cupcakes:
- Funfetti Cupcakes: Made with lots of colorful sprinkles for a delicious, festive treat.
- Chai Cupcakes: Moist, full of chai spice flavor, and topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.
- Snickers Cupcakes: Just like the candy bar but in decadent cupcake form.
- Nutella Cupcakes: Rich chocolate cupcakes topped with velvety-smooth Nutella frosting and toasted hazelnuts.
Lemon Cupcakes
These moist vanilla cupcakes are bursting with tangy lemon flavor! Made with fresh lemon juicy and lemon zest, these cupcakes are topped with creamy lemon-vanilla buttercream. They're easy to make and a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes:
- 1 ⅓ cups (185g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (90 ml) whole milk
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Lemon Buttercream Frosting:*
- ½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ – 2 ½ cups (180-280g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream (or whole milk)
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Instructions
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For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another small bowl, toss together sugar and lemon zest until combined.
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Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and lemon-sugar mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. On medium speed, beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Add milk and lemon juice and beat until combined. Add the other half of the dry ingredients and beat slowly until just combined. Do not overmix – the less you mix, the lighter the cupcakes will be.
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Divide batter evenly between the cups, filling them about ¾ full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
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For the frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until smooth, creamy, and the consistency is similar to mayonnaise, about 2 minutes. Add ¾ cup (90g) powdered sugar and beat well until smooth. Add cream, lemon juice, and lemon zest and beat until combined and smooth. Add another ¾ cup sugar and beat until completely smooth and fluffy. Beat in more sugar as needed, until desired consistency (thick enough to pipe). Frost cupcakes once they’ve cooled.
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To add lemon curd filling:
Once the cupcakes have cooled, cut a ¼-inch – ½-inch hole in the center of each cupcake using a knife. Use a piping bag** to fill each hole with lemon curd, then top the the cupcakes with buttercream as you normally would.
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Unfrosted cupcakes can be kept tightly covered at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw, still covered, on the counter or overnight in the fridge.
Recipe Notes
*This amount of frosting is enough for me to frost exactly 12 cupcakes, but I don’t use a lot of frosting for each cupcake (as you can see in the photos above). If you want more frosting, multiply the frosting recipe by 1.5.
**If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a large Ziploc bag instead. Fill the bag with lemon curd then snip the corner to easily fill the cupcakes.
