How can you not smile sinking your teeth into one of these? The happiest cupcake in the world! Today’s homemade lemon cupcakes are incredibly soft and bursting with lemon, just like my lemon cake. Not too much lemon that you’ll squint your eyes and pucker up your lips, but just enough to give each bite a refreshing zest of citrus flavor. I top them with my favorite vanilla frosting. Sweet vanilla and zesty lemon complement each other wonderfully, though cream cheese frosting would also be delicious! If these cupcakes look familiar, they probably are—we double this recipe to make lemon blueberry cake, and we use the exact same base recipe for my lemon raspberry cupcakes and lemon cupcakes with blackberry cream cheese frosting. The gorgeous purple frosting is naturally colored and flavored with blackberries—and is absolutely divine. We also used this as a starting point and experimented with different citrus flavors in our 6 inch citrus cake.
These Lemon Cupcakes Are
Sunshine sweet Made with basic ingredients Bursting with lemon flavor A perfect balance of sweet and tart Easy to make Moist and buttery Fun to decorate Topped with vanilla buttercream A great lemon muffin recipe, too
Overview of Ingredients in Lemon Cupcakes
You need simple, everyday ingredients for today’s cupcakes. The ingredient list is similar to my lemon cake. Let’s review:
Flour: All-purpose flour is the base of these cupcakes. Baking Powder: Baking powder helps the cupcakes rise. Salt: A little salt adds flavor. Butter: I favor using neutral oil in my cakes and cupcakes because it makes cakes exceptionally moist. However, when I’m looking for a buttery taste, I use butter. In one bite, all you’ll taste is sweet lemon + buttery vanilla flavor. Unbelievable! Sugar: We use all granulated sugar in this cupcake recipe. Eggs: 2 eggs add structure and richness. Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds flavor. Try homemade vanilla extract. Milk: Milk adds moisture. I use whole milk, but any milk works. Lemons: We need 2 lemons for the cupcake batter—the zest of two lemons & the juice of two lemons.
These would be so good filled with homemade lemon curd! See my chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes for how I fill cupcakes the easy way. Want to add berries? Use my recipe for lemon blueberry cupcakes.
Frost With Vanilla Buttercream
When deciding what to frost these lemon cupcakes with, I turned to my trusty vanilla buttercream. It’s wonderfully soft and creamy, pipes beautifully (I used a Wilton 1M frosting tip for today’s cupcakes), and pairs perfectly with just about every flavor. I love how this sweet vanilla frosting complements the citrusy lemon cupcakes. Sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting or a dollop of homemade whipped cream would also be wonderful choices. For even more lemon flavor, try my lemon buttercream. You could even top these with my favorite strawberry frosting (pictured below), or drizzle with raspberry sauce.
More Favorite Cupcake Recipes
Chocolate Cupcakes Vanilla Cupcakes Strawberry Cupcakes Peanut Butter Cupcakes Yellow Cupcakes Carrot Cake Cupcakes Banana Cupcakes
