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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
Love this recipe – delicious and so fresh for a spring treat!
These citrus cupcakes are the perfect amount of bright in this awful weather! I think March came in like a lion this year and it seems bound & determined to leave the same way! I definitely need the bright flavors of lemon to remind me of summer right now. So delicious!
These are so bright and perfect for Easter and springtime. Everyone loves them!
Chocolate is our favorite! But these lemon cupcakes come in at a close 2nd. Not overly strong but enough to taste like spring. Yummy frosting.
These cupcakes are so light & refreshing!! Come this time of year, I want everything lemon & these are delicious!!
Can this be baked in a 9×11 pan?
I’m sure it can! I haven’t tried, but I’d just say to keep an eye on the baking time. It will probably need a bit more than if you were making the cupcakes. We also have a recipe for a yummy Lemon Sheet Cake that you may be interested in too: https://lilluna.com/lemon-sheet-cake/
Just made these today. Waiting for them to cool. I had made some other frosting so didn’t use yours. Smells great and the batter off the beaters was good. Even my cat liked it.
I love that your cat even enjoyed it! 🙂 Thanks for sharing. Hope the cupcakes turned out delicious!
Love the fresh lemon in these
Hello Kristyn,
Is is correct that your lemon cupcakes don’t have any baking soda or baking powder in them??
Renee
Yes, that is correct 🙂 They are so good..hope you try them!
These lemon cupcakes look very delicious. I would try it out this weekend.
Let me know how you like them 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!!