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Moist & bright Lemon Cupcakes with a delicious homemade lemon cream frosting are the perfect summer dessert!!
For a summer dessert that is both sweet and tangy, Lemon Cupcakes are a must that fit the season so well! For more lemon treats, check out our Lemon Sheet Cake and Lemon Poppyseed Bread.
WE LOVE LEMON!
I have always loved lemon, and who doesn’t love a good cupcake, right?!
These Lemon Cupcakes were a cinch to put together and had the perfect lemon flavor, without being too tart. The icing on the cake (and quite literally) was the lemon cream frosting. SO good!
The batter alone was delicious and we found ourselves licking the bowl way too often. They baked to perfection and we were so glad we gave them a try.
Sometimes a sweet, fluffy cupcake is the best treat you can enjoy!! And in the summer time, a delicious lemon cupcake is even better.
Although the batter of this cupcake recipe has an amazing taste, we still think the creamy, fluffy lemon cream cheese frosting was the best. Top it off with a little lemon zest and it’s PERFECTION!!!
How to make Lemon Cupcakes
PREP. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan cups with paper liners.
DRY INGREDIENTS. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
SET INGREDIENTS. In another bowl, beat together butter, oil, sour cream, eggs, lemonade and lemon zest. Add dry ingredients and beat until creamy.
BAKE. Use a large cookie scoop to fill cupcake liners to about 2/3 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes.
FROSTING. Make frosting by beating together the cream cheese, butter, lemon zest and salt in a medium bowl, or in your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice and beat until smooth.
Once cupcakes are cool, pipe on frosting and add sprinkles or a lemon slice to garnish if desired.
FROSTING + Variations
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting: We LOVE this frosting, but you can change it up to whatever you prefer. We are sharing some of our favorite recipes below, but you can also change up the lemon zest to be orange zest or lime zest. You can also change up the lemon juice for lime juice or orange juice. All are great additions for these lemon cupcakes.
There are many different flavors of frostings you can use for these cupcakes:
- Easy Marshmallow Frosting
- Berry Buttercream Frosting
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Coconut Frosting
- Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Storing Info
STORE your finished lemon cupcakes at room temperature in airtight containers. These cupcakes will stay good for about a week at room temperature or stored in your fridge.
FREEZE these lemon cupcakes after they have been baked. Make sure they are completely cooled before freezing. You can freeze them whether they have been frosted or not, but freezing the frosting separately will give you the best results. The best way to freeze them would be to wrap them individually in plastic wrap to keep them fresh.
Then store them all in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months.
For more great cupcakes, check out:
Lemon Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup lemonade
- zest of 2 lemons
Lemon Cream Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan cups with paper liners.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
- In another bowl, beat together butter, oil, sour cream, eggs, lemonade and lemon zest. Add dry ingredients and beat until creamy.
- Use a large cookie scoop to fill cupcake liners to about 2/3 full.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes.
- Make frosting by beating together the cream cheese, butter, lemon zest and salt in a medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and lemon juice and beat until smooth.
- Once cupcakes are cool, pipe on frosting and add sprinkles if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Adapted from Allrecipes.com
You said this recipe prefers cake flour and describe to make your own as a substitute, but then the recipe instructions and ingredients use all purpose flour. Im confused.
Thanks for pointing that out. We’ll get the post updated. I’d suggest going with the cake flour or creating your own. It’ll yield a tender, fluffy cupcake.
So easy to make and they taste delicious!
These were really amazing! From the frosting to the cupcake the lemon flavor shines through. The texture of the cupcake is a little more dense than a typical cupcake. But is east heavy and was still moist and delicious. Definitely worth making again.