Perfect for spring or summer, lemon blueberry cupcakes are a bright and sunny sweet treat! My recipe is designed to stay soft and moist even when refrigerated. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Bright Blueberry Lemon Cupcakes
Can you think of a more cheery flavor combination than lemon and blueberry? These lemon blueberry cupcakes are pure sunshine and happiness in cupcake form–they’ll brighten any day!
For such a simple recipe, this one needed quite a lot of testing to get just right. We ended up with a variation of my lemon blueberry cake, but sturdier so the cupcakes could hold their shape without falling apart in your hands.
Why You’ll Love My Recipe
- Won’t dry out in the fridge! Since these cupcakes need to be refrigerated to keep them fresh, I had to figure out a way to preserve their soft crumb (butter-based crumbs can become dry and crumbly in the cold fridge). The solution? Use oil instead of butter! If you’re worried about losing flavor with this choice, don’t–there’s enough other flavor from the lemon, berries and vanilla.
- Bright lemon flavor from real lemons–no lemon extract or pudding mixes here. This is how I make many of my lemon recipes, like my lemon poppy seed scones or lemon meltaway cookies.
- Easy prep that takes just 15 minutes. We’ll use the reverse creaming method (as seen in my yellow cake recipe) to first combine the oil and dry ingredients, then add the remaining wet ingredients. It’s a simple technique that’s great for beginners, since it’s almost impossible to over-mix.
- Soft and tender texture that holds its shape under as much (or as little) lemon frosting as you like. I include plenty of alternative frosting suggestions for you below!
What You Need
I won’t review every ingredient, but let’s chat about most important ones before we get started.
- Blueberries. Stick with fresh blueberries here–frozen can sometimes introduce too much moisture. Similarly, make sure you dry your blueberries very well after washing them–we don’t want to add any extra water to the batter (causes sinking blueberries and a compromised cupcake crumb!).
- Lemons. We’ll need the zest and juice of a lemon or two (depending on how big yours are!). Always zest your lemons before juicing–it’s much harder the other way around!
- Buttermilk. For flavor and moisture. I always prefer and recommend real buttermilk for the best results, but my easy buttermilk substitute will work if you don’t have any on hand.
- Cornstarch. This helps the cupcakes hold their shape while also encouraging a more tender texture.
- Vanilla extract. Often I’ll omit vanilla extract with fruity recipes (like my strawberry cookies), but this specific recipe benefits and gets a nice depth of flavor from the vanilla. Don’t skip it!
SAM’S TIP: If you forget to set your eggs out ahead of time, use my trick to quickly bring eggs to room temperature. This will help them incorporate into your batter more easily and will ultimately yield the best batter and cupcakes.
As always, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
Reverse cream to start
Whisk the dry ingredients and sugar together in a large bowl. Grab your mixer and slowly drizzle the oil in while mixing on low speed; this is a version of the reverse creaming method (used in my caramel cake!) that makes for a plush texture.
The batter won’t look like cake batter just yet–it should be a bit crumbly and dough-like, but still evenly moistened.
Finish the batter & add the berries
Whisk the remaining wet ingredients together in a separate bowl or measuring cup, then slowly drizzle them into the batter as well. Fold in your blueberries (make sure they are nice and dry first!) until just combined.
Bake and cool
Evenly divide the batter into a lined muffin pan and bake. Check for doneness with a toothpick; you want a few moist crumbs or a clean toothpick (no wet batter!).
Don’t let the cupcakes sit in the pan for more than 5 minutes. If they sit in the hot pan for too long, they’ll get greasy on the bottom. I just use a butter knife to gently pry them out of the pan and then carefully remove them to the cooling rack (you should be doing this with all your cupcakes and muffins!).
SAM’S TIP: Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting, otherwise the frosting will just melt right off. I share a few frosting suggestions below!
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer to not use frozen blueberries for this recipe, as it can make the cupcake crumb a bit soggy and the blueberries sometimes sink. Stick with fresh here and try my or check out my blueberry muffins, blueberry cobbler, berry crisp, or my whole collection of blueberry recipes for several options that work with frozen berries.
So many! Cream cheese frosting, Swiss meringue buttercream, white chocolate buttercream, vanilla buttercream, and whipped cream frosting are all great options.
Or go full tilt into the lemon blueberry theme and swirl my blueberry frosting with either my lemon frosting or new lemon cream cheese frosting–I show you exactly how to do a pretty swirl like this in my peanut butter cupcakes recipe!
So many of you have asked for this recipe–I can’t wait to hear how you like it! 🍋🫐
Enjoy!
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Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cups (150 g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup (120 ml) neutral cooking oil (avocado, vegetable, or canola oil)
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) buttermilk room temperature preferred
- 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice fresh squeezed preferred
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (170 g) fresh blueberries (rinsed and completely dried)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.1 ½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour, ¾ cups (150 g) granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon table salt
- Use an electric mixer and slowly drizzle oil into mixture, mixing on low speed to combine. Mixture may appear crumbly, this is fine, but all of the dry ingredients should be moistened.½ cup (120 ml) neutral cooking oil
- In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla.⅓ cup (80 ml) buttermilk, 2 Tablespoons lemon zest, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, 2 large eggs, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- With mixer on low speed, slowly drizzle the wet mixture into the dry, stirring until completely combined.
- Add blueberries and use a spatula to gently fold into the batter until well distributed.1 cup (170 g) fresh blueberries
- Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin tin. Transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes, until cupcakes are baked through and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out dry, or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow cupcakes to cool in their pan for 5 minutes before carefully removing to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Cool completely before frosting. I recommend my lemon frosting, blueberry frosting, or my new lemon cream cheese frosting.
Notes
Storing
Store at room temperature for up to several hours but otherwise keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Ashley Burley
Could I make these a few days ahead and freeze them? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Ashley! They will be good for about 3 days in an air tight container, any longer than that and I would recommend freezing them. 🙂
Lora
Hi there! I just had to leave a five star review for this amazingly moist and refreshing cupcake. I made these for a Mother’s Day brunch I hosted and also used both the lemon cream cheese and blueberry frosting recipes and created the swirl. I received ooohs and ahhhs and everyone loved them! Fantastic! Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy they were such a hit, Lora! Thanks for using our recipe 🩷
Karen
I made these cupcakes for Mother’s Day. They were delicious and easy to make. Everyone enjoyed them
Sam
I’m so glad they were such a hit, Karen! 🙂
Kat Jack
I loved this recipe. I wouldn’t change a thing.
I forgot about the icing so I ran out and got strawberry icing from the store. still great tho.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Kat! 🙂
steven
can you make the batter 24 hours ahead and leave in the fridge?
Sam
Hi Steven! I would be worried the cupcakes wouldn’t rise as much as they should if the batter is kept that long. 🙁
Beth
Hey, Sam!!
Can cake flour be used here instead of using corn starch? Thanks!!
Sam
Hi Beth! You could replace all of the flour and cornstarch with cake flour. 🙂