Lemon Cupcakes – The perfect lemon cupcake recipe! Light and fluffy cupcakes filled with lemon curd and topped with a lemon buttercream frosting.
Lemon Cupcakes
Lemon flavored desserts are some of my favorites. Whether it’s lemon cookies, lemon mousse, lemon cheesecake, etc, I will happily enjoy it! Since I’ve been on a cupcake kick recently, I decided to make the perfect lemon cupcakes. To make them, I wanted a perfect cupcake base and lemon buttercream frosting but what would make it really special would be filling the cupcakes with lemon curd to give it a punch of flavor and a nice creamy filling. Honestly, these cupcakes turned out so perfect!
Now you can either use homemade or store-bought lemon curd for the filling, totally up to you. Additionally, you could substitute in any other citrus/citrus curd in the recipe to make a lime, orange, or even grapefruit version of this recipe.
Common Questions About Making Lemon Cupcakes
What are lemon cupcakes?
Lemon cupcakes are lightly flavored lemon cupcakes filled with lemon curd and topped with a simple lemon buttercream frosting.
How many cupcakes does this recipe make?
It makes 12 cupcakes so if you want more, just double the recipe.
How can I make the perfect cupcakes?
- Follow the recipe – While I totally understand dietary restrictions, if you plan on making changes to the ingredients, I cannot guarantee the recipe will work. If you are facing this problem, I will gently suggest that you may want to consider finding a cupcake recipe on a site that specifically develops for the diet you are on such as a keto baking website or vegan baking website. Too many times have I seen recipes for wrong for people because they started to adjust the recipe too much.
- Don’t over-mix the cupcakes – If you want to keep cupcakes light and airy, avoiding over-mixing is key. Mix until just barely combined.
- Let the cupcakes completely cool before frosting – This is a classic mistake that people constantly make (including me). Your cupcakes are done baking, you are ready to sit down and eat one so you touch the cupcake and say “this is most definitely cool” even though it’s only been out of the oven for like, 5 minutes. Wrong. Your frosting will just slide off the cupcake and it’ll be really sad. To be safe, I’d say give them 1-2 hours before frosting.
- Don’t over fill the cupcake liners – If you overfill the cupcake liners, you will definitely have some overflow which isn’t pretty and elegant. Stick to filling each liner about 3/4 full.
- Spin the cupcake tin halfway through cooking – An oven’s heat is generally not terribly even so a simple way to make sure all of the cupcakes cook all the way through is to spin the pan about 1/2 way through baking 180 degrees.
What other types of cupcakes can I make?
There are so many fun varieties of cupcakes to make! Some of the best are –
- Funfetti Cupcakes
- Rhubarb Cupcakes
- Zucchini Cupcakes
- Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
- Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
- Mimosa Cupcakes
Looking for more lemon desserts? Check these out!
Lemon Cupcakes
Lemon Cupcakes - The perfect lemon cupcake recipe! Light and fluffy cupcakes filled with lemon curd and topped with a lemon buttercream frosting.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Frosting
- 1 stick butter (softened)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon curd
Instructions
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake tin with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and lemon zest. Whisk to combine.
- Add the vegetable oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk to combine - just until no large lumps of flour remain.
- Fill each cupcake tin 3/4 of the way full and bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean - about 14-16 minutes.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
For the Frosting
- Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter, lemon zest, and vanilla extract on medium speed until smooth - about 2 minutes.
- On low speed, add the powdered sugar a little at a time.
- After you've added all the powdered sugar, turn the mixer to high speed and beat until the icing is light and fluffy - about 2 minutes.
- Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with your choice of tip and set aside until ready to use.
Assemble
-
Scoop a small hole in the center of each cupcake and fill the center with lemon curd (about 1-2 teaspoons). Place the piece of cake you scooped out back on top of the lemon curd.
- Frost cupcakes as desired (I did a simple swirl with a Wilton 2D tip).
- Store any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
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