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Mini lemon drop cakes are drenched in a mouthwatering lemon glaze making them delicious and addicting and perfectly sweet + tangy!
We love all things mini like fruit tarts, cinnamon rolls, and donuts. These mini Lemon Drop cakes are a perfect treat for lemon fans.
Easy Lemon Drop Cakes
I am a huge fan of all things lemon, and these Mini Lemon Drop Cakes are my latest experiment.
The original recipe called for a cake mix, but it made 75 lemon drops. I didn’t need that many, so I decided to come up with my own recipe. I am thrilled with how they turned out.
I took them to a bridal shower, and they were a big hit! They are soft and buttery, and the lemon glaze soaks into every nook and cranny, making every bite delectable. Be careful, they are hard to stop eating!
Fresh lemon zest is the secret to incredible lemon flavor, so don’t leave it out. If you love lemons, you are really in for a treat!
How to Make Lemon Drops
PREP. Spray mini muffin pans with non-stick spray; set aside.
DRY INGREDIENTS. Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl; set aside.
WET INGREDIENTS. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add water and bring to a boil.
COMBINE. Pour hot mixture over dry ingredients and beat with a hand beater till barely blended. Beat in the sour cream, egg, zest, and lemon juice till smooth.
BAKE. Scoop batter into muffin pans. Bake at 325° for about 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then turn onto cooling racks. Cool completely before glazing.
MIX. Whisk all glaze ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Heat for about 10 seconds in the microwave till glaze is very thin.
GLAZE. Dip lemon drops top side down into the glaze. Let excess glaze drip off into the bowl, then invert lemon drops bottom side down onto cooling racks. (Place waxed paper underneath the cooling racks for easier clean up.) Let sit till glaze hardens.
SToring Info
These mini lemon drop cakes might just be the perfect lemony dessert! Here are a few helpful tips you might like before you get started with baking them:
STORE covered on your countertop at room temperature if you plan to eat within a few days.
FREEZE them before you add the glaze. Flash freeze the cakes on a baking sheet for about an hour and then add them to a freezer safe container or Ziploc bag. They will store well frozen for up to 3 months. When you are ready to eat them just thaw out on your countertop and then make the glaze and dip your cakes.
If you love lemon, Here are a few more recipes to try:
Lemon Drop Mini Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 whole egg
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Lemon Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp butter, melted
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Spray mini muffin pans with non-stick spray; set aside.
- Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl; set aside.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add water and bring to a boil.
- Pour hot mixture over dry ingredients and beat with a hand beater till barely blended. Beat in the sour cream, egg, zest, and lemon juice till smooth.
- Scoop batter into muffin pans. Bake at 325° for about 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then turn onto cooling racks. Cool completely before glazing.
- Dip lemon drops top side down into the glaze. Let excess glaze drip off into the bowl, then invert lemon drops bottom side down onto cooling racks. (Place waxed paper underneath the cooling racks for easier clean up.) Let sit till glaze hardens.
Lemon Glaze
- Whisk all glaze ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Heat for about 10 seconds in the microwave till glaze is very thin.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Best way to mail these?? Thank you
Oh, that’s hard! I haven’t mailed them before. You would need to find some way to keep them from moving all around & fresh. I would check google.
These are incredible. So tender, so moist. Definitely will become a favorite!
Yay! Happy to hear that! Thank you!
I made these for my daughters baby shower and they were a big hit. I normally dont like anything lemon flavored desserts, but these are very delicious. Yummy
I am happy you liked them & tried them 🙂 Glad they were a hit! Thank you!
Love these cakes. I, too, didn’t have mini muffin tins, so I looked for comments made by others with the same predicament. Here’s what I came up with: I used a single 2.5″ muffin tin lined with cupcake baking cups that I sprayed generously with Pam baking spray. I added an extra tablespoon of flour and a half teaspoon of baking powder to the mix, measured all liquid ingredients carefully, and filled each of the cups with two heaping tablespoons of batter, making exactly 12 small muffin size cakes. I preheated my oven to 350°, dropping the temperature to 325° immediately after placing the tin in the oven on the center rack. I baked them for 22 minutes. Time will vary based on the oven, but I watched them carefully through my glass oven door until they had risen evenly across the tops and the edges had started to brown. Only then did I open the oven to check for doneness with a toothpick. Once cooled, I turned them upside down and dipped the tops in the glaze. So pretty. I just removed the paper from one of them with no problem and ate it. Awesome! Thank you so much. We do love lemon in this house. Hope this helps other lemon lovers who don’t have mini pans.
Thank you for sharing what you did! That sounds great. Glad you liked them!
Hi – I have the mini muffin tins…can I add the paper lining instead of spraying and having them get stuck?
You sure could 🙂 Hope you like them!
At any point can these be frozen????
I haven’t tried freezing them, but maybe before the glaze point?? Then thaw, then dip in glaze.
Unfortunately these stuck to the pan and fell apart. The flavor was pretty good though.
Thanks for the feedback! Glad you enjoyed the flavor. I always make sure to spray the mini muffin pans generously. Hopefully that may help with the sticking for next time. 🙂
Omg. Tried these first time changed nothing and they taste amazing. However my icing isnt thinning to look this Pretty its more of a drIZzle but still i love It.!
I am glad you think so 🙂 Usually, to make the icing more thin, add more liquid. Thank you!
Soooooo delicious!! The recipE made exactly 48 mini cupcakes! I filled them abou 2/3 full. Cook time was per at 12 min. I ran Short on icing Though, would recommend making Abou 1 1/2 times the amount. No need to doublE it.
Happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing that!
They wouldn’t come out of pan. I sprayed it good to. And a vary runny batter .so mixed with cream cheese and made balls and glazed vary good
Sorry they stuck! They should have come out, since you sprayed it well. And, I am not sure why it was runny, but I am glad you liked them!
Hi, this recipe looks absolutely amazing, but is there any way to scale it down? We’re a family of three, so we can really only go through a dozen of these…
You could just cut the recipe in half or take some to a neighbor 🙂
Loved how easy it was to make this. My boss asked whether I knew how to make lemon drop cakes, and I didn’t. So I jumped on the internet and googled for recipes. I’m so glad I found yours. I’ve always preferred making bite sized cakes instead of a whole cake. I’ve found that I love of people like it that way too.
Now you on to my question. Would it be better to keep the mini cakes in air tight container and in room temperature, or should they be refrigerated?
So glad you loved this recipe! Most cakes, frosted and unfrosted, are perfectly fine at room temperature for several days so an air tight container at room temperature for your lemon drop cakes would be perfect. 🙂
can they be frozen?
I personally haven’t tried freezing them.
Wonderful recipe! Used the cake release but they still stuck!
Sorry they stuck! Thanks so much for trying this recipe!!