These lemon cupcakes are soft, moist and filled with fresh lemon zest. They're made from scratch with easy to find ingredients, and topped with a lemon cream cheese buttercream frosting.
If you love lemon, these cupcakes need to go on your must-make list! These lemon cupcakes are tender, sweet, and filled with lemon flavor.
Grab a couple of fresh lemons from the grocery store. You'll be using fresh lemon zest and juice for these cupcakes and the frosting.
These cupcakes turn out tender and soft, with a fine crumb. I like to use cake flour in my cupcakes, which makes them more tender than a cupcake made with all-purpose flour.
Cake flour
I buy Swans Down cake flour (affiliate link) because it's readily available in my local grocery store, and the quality is excellent.
When I don't have time to shop, I can have it delivered by amazon in just two days.
If you don't have cake flour on hand, these cupcakes can be made with all-purpose flour. However, your cupcakes will not turn out as tender or soft, and will have a coarser texture.
Cupcake tips and tricks
Cupcake tips and tricks- Make sure you’re using baking powder and not baking soda. There is a difference, and baking soda will not work for this recipe.
- Properly measure your flour by using a spoon to scoop flour into your measuring cup, then using a knife to level off the top. Scooping using your measuring cup will compact flour into the cup, adding extra flour to the recipe.
- Only mix your batter until the ingredients are just incorporated. Overmixing your batter can whip extra air in, causing your cupcakes to rise quickly and then fall in the center when they bake.
- Do not unwrap your cupcakes while they’re still warm. Your cupcakes will stick to the liners until they are fully cooled throughout. Once cooled, your cupcakes will easily unwrap.
- Are your cupcakes sticky on top? This can be caused by humidity in your home or storing cupcakes while they’re still warm. This can’t really be fixed, but can easily be covered with frosting.
- Do not frost warm cupcakes! Buttercream is sensitive to heat and will melt between 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup milk room temperature
Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 4 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
Lemon Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with liners, set aside.
- In a bowl, sift or whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat until creamed and fluffy.
- Add eggs, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix until incorporated and smooth.
- Add half of your dry ingredients to butter mixture. Stir until just combined. Add half of milk, again stirring until just combined. Repeat once more, adding remaining dry ingredients, and remaining milk, stirring until just incorporated.
- Divide batter between 15 cupcake liners, filling halfway full. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove pan from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring cupcakes to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- In a large bowl, add room temperature butter and cream cheese and beat until creamy, about 1 minute.
- Add confectioner's sugar and slowly mix until ingredients are fully combined. Then, whip at high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Add vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest, then whip until fluffy, another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pipe or spread frosting with a knife onto cupcakes and serve.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Over-mixing your batter will cause your cupcakes to rise quickly, then sink in the middle. To prevent this, only mix each ingredient until it is incorporated into the batter. Try using a spoon instead of a hand mixer to incorporate the dry ingredients and milk.
- To perfectly portion cupcake batter, I recommend using a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoon size), or add 3 tablespoons of batter to each cup.
- Cupcakes are best served the same day of baking, but will remain moist for up to 48 hours when covered in a sealed container.
Do you have to use self rising flour or can you use all purpose flour?
I would not recommend self rising flour, this recipe can be made with cake flour or all-purpose flour, but highly recommend using cake flour (for the finer texture and tighter crumb) if you have it on hand.
Hi. Have you tried doubling the recipe before. If so, are there any measurement changes? These are so yummy but I need to make them in larger quantities.
You should be able to double the recipe as written with no issues!
Thank you for the info. These cupcakes are a hit!
My 8 year old daughter made these, with a little help 😉. We made exactly as recipe stated and they were amazing!!! Like gone in 1 day good! She wants to try and make a cake, do you have a recipe for a cake? We aren’t that good at figuring measurements
Hi Kelly, I'm so glad to hear you enjoy the recipe! I do not have a cake recipe, but I've had readers convert my other cupcake recipes successfully. As written, this recipe will make two 8" round cake layers that are about 1 inch high (baking time will be slightly longer than cupcakes). Or, this recipe can be doubled and poured into a 9x13 pan (baking time may be closer to 30-35 minutes). No matter what size pan, the oven temperature will be 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Hope this helps!