Lemon Cupcakes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: lemon cupcakes

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings:

Calories: 337kcal

Lemon is such a bright and fresh flavor and these cupcakes can be adjusted to your tastes to include a little or a lot of lemony goodness.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Cupcakes

1 1/4 cups cake flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract use half vanilla and half lemon extract for a light lemon flavor
1/2 cup oil vegetable, canola or extra light olive oil
1/3 cup milk whole or low fat, but avoid fat free
1/3 cup sour cream full fat or light, but avoid fat free
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest optional

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter
8 ounces cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350*F. Prepare a cupcake with paper liners. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, add cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together with whisk, and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs and beat 10-20 seconds. Add sugar and continue to beat on medium speed about 30 seconds. Add vanilla extract (and lemon extract if using) and oil, beat until smooth and combined.
Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add about half of the flour mixture. Add the milk, then the rest of the flour and the sour cream (and lemon zest if using). Beat until just combined. Scrape down the side of the bowl.
The batter will be thin. Pour batter into prepared pan with liners. Fill liners about 2/3 full.
Bake cupcakes for 12 to 14 minutes.
Cool in pan 1-2 minutes, then remove cupcakes from pan (carefully) and finish cooling on a wire rack.
Frost as desired when fully cool.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter (while still cool) until smooth.
Add (cold) cream cheese and continue to beat until fully incorporated and smooth.
Add powder sugar, one cup at a time, while the mixer is running.
Continue mixing and add lemon zest, vanilla and lemon juice. Mix an additional 30 seconds, until smooth, light and fluffy.
Frost cooled cupcakes.

Lemon Curd Filling (optional)

If you want to add a lemon filling, complete these steps BEFORE frosting.
Cut out cone shaped hole in the top of the baked cupcakes and fill with 1 to 2 teaspoons of lemon curd. I used (this) delicious homemade lemon curd.

Notes

Feel free to use this recipe for a cake as well. The recipe above will work for a 6" cake. Double the recipe for an 8" or 9" cake.

* A note about Cake Flour- Cake Flour has a lower protein content than traditional all-purpose flour, which results in a more tender, delicate crumb in the finished product. If you can not find or access cake flour, feel free to substitute as necessary, but your results will vary from the original recipe.

RECIPE UPDATED - May 2017

I have made this recipe many times with success, but in an effort to always be improving (even great recipes) I've made a couple small updates to this recipe (which are now listed above). My original recipe included 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder (now reduced to 3/4), 3/4 cup sugar (now increased to 1 cup) and 1/2 cup buttermilk (now updated to 1/3 cup milk, 1/3 cup sour cream).

Nutrition