Lemon Cupcakes

These Lemon Cupcakes are soft, fluffy, and so refreshing! Naturally lemon flavored (no pudding mixes or lemon extract in the cupcake bases!), the lemon flavor comes through bright and clear in these sweet cupcakes! We’re topping them off today with a lemon cream cheese frosting! 

Lemon Cupcakes

Another lemon recipe for you today! 🍋

Between all of the testing I’ve been doing for my lemon brownies, lemon curd, lemonade, and now these lemon cupcakes, it’s a miracle my grocery store has been able to keep up with the amount of lemons I’m going through.

Today’s recipe comes by request. I’ve had a lot of fans of my vanilla cake ask me how to make a lemon variation of that recipe, and while I’d love to have an easy fool-proof response to that question, I really don’t know the answer until I get in the kitchen and try it myself. So, into the kitchen I went, and I didn’t leave until I had a dozen perfect lemon cupcakes.

We’re topping these off with a lemon cream cheese frosting (which is a variation of my cream cheese frosting), which really puts gives us a great, tart, lemon flavor.

How to Get the Best Lemon Flavor in Your Lemon Cupcakes

When I started developing this lemon cupcake recipe, I knew that I did not want to use lemon extract. I have nothing against it (and even use it in my lemon brownies) but I know that not everyone keeps all different kinds of extracts stocked at all times, and I like to keep my recipes as pantry-staple-friendly as possible. We’re halfway there with this recipe (no extract in the cupcakes, but I do recommend it for the frosting).

It only took a few attempts before I found that slightly tart, sunny, lemon-y flavor I was looking for, no extract necessary.

To get there, we’re using lemon juice and fresh lemon zest. You’ll need two Tablespoons of lemon juice, which you’ll stir in with your buttermilk (or buttermilk substitute). This helps to brighten up that bright lemon flavor a bit, but what really packs a powerful punch is the lemon zest (pro-tip, make sure you zest your lemons before you juice them!).

We’re also using two Tablespoons of lemon zest. When zesting your lemon, it’s very important that you just use zest from the outer layer of the rind (the yellow part!). If you grind too deeply into your lemon, what you’re actually grating is the “pith” of the lemon. The pith is white and bitter and doesn’t have the same citrus flavor that the zest does. If you end up with two Tablespoons of pith rather than zest, your cupcakes will be bitter and not nearly as lemony as they ought to be.

When developing the lemon cream cheese frosting, I found that I wasn’t happy with the flavor derived from just using lemon juice and zest, so I do recommend using lemon extract there for a bolder lemon flavor, if you have it.

Enjoy!

Other Recipes You Might Like:

• Homemade Lemonade
• Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• Confetti Cupcakes
• More Cupcake Recipes

Be sure to check out my Lemon Cupcake video at the bottom of the recipe! If you enjoy watching, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel where I’ve already uploaded over 150 recipe videos that you can watch for free!

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Sunny, fluffy, LEMON CUPCAKES! An easy and from-scratch cupcake and lemon cream cheese frosting recipe.

Be sure to check out the how-to video below the recipe!

5 from 19 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: cupcakes, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 17 minutes minutes

Total Time: 47 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Calories: 488kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

Lemon Cupcakes

• ▢ ¼ cup unsalted butter softened (56g)
• ▢ ¼ cup canola oil¹ (60ml)
• ▢ ¾ cup granulated sugar (150g)
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons lemon zest²
• ▢ 2 large eggs lightly beaten, room temperature preferred
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (185g) may substitute cake flour
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup buttermilk (118ml)
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
• ▢ 8 oz cream cheese softened (brick-style, not spreadable) (226g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ½ teaspoon lemon extract optional
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• ▢ 4 cups powdered sugar (500g)

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Instructions

LEMON CUPCAKES

• Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
• Place butter in a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer) and use an electric mixer (or stand mixer) to beat until creamy.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add oil, sugar, and lemon zest and beat again until creamy and thoroughly combined.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir well until completely combined.
• In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. 
• In a large measuring cup, briefly stir together buttermilk and lemon juice. 
• Using a spoon or spatula, gradually stir about a third of the flour mixture into wet ingredients until just-combined (don’t use an electric mixer here or you’ll be more likely to overmix the batter, resulting in dense/dry cupcakes). Add about half of the buttermilk mixture into the batter and stir until just combined. Repeat adding flour and buttermilk in this way until ingredients are completely combined, but don’t mix more than you need to. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so all ingredients are combined.
• Evenly divide batter into prepared cupcake tin, filling each liner ⅔ of the way full. Transfer to 350F/175C oven and bake for 17-18 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Allow to cool completely before topping with lemon cream cheese frosting.

LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• Combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and use an electric mixer (or stand mixer) to beat until well-combined.
• Add lemon zest, vanilla extract, lemon extract (if using), salt, and lemon juice and beat well.
• Gradually, with mixer on low speed, add powdered sugar until completely combined. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl to make sure ingredients are well incorporated. 
• Once cupcakes have cooled, spread or pipe³ lemon cream cheese frosting over cupcakes. Enjoy!

Notes

¹Vegetable oil may be substituted for canola oil

²When zesting your lemon, it's very important that you just use zest from the outer layer of the rind (the yellow part!). If you grind too deeply into your lemon, what you're actually grating is the "pith" of the lemon. The pith is bitter and doesn't have the same citrus flavor that the zest does. If you end up with two Tablespoons of pith rather than zest, your cupcakes will be bitter and not nearly as lemony as they ought to be.

³I used an Ateco 848 tip (affiliate link) to pipe the frosting on my lemon cupcakes

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupcake with frosting | Calories: 488kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 182mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 53g | Vitamin A: 665IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 1mg

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.

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