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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.
I’m making these for my granddaughter’s wedding. They are really tasty and cute. My husband loves them! And so easy!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Congrats to your granddaughter!
These lemon drop cakes are awesome. The only downside for pre-diabetics is the fact that each mini cake will raise your glucose 25 points or more, even if you are on a low dose Glipizide. If you are watching your numbers you can afford one or two occasionally.
So glad you enjoyed the drop cakes… even if just sparingly. 😉
This recipe was a disaster for me, and I followed it to the letter. Despite thoroughly greasing a high quality non-stick mini muffin pans, these refused to release, likely due to the high sugar content. The delicate sponge simply squished or fell apart, leaving me a pile of tasty cake crumbs. I had let them cool in the pan the 5 minutes. I let some cool longer and it didn’t help. It’s an odd recipe, with melting and boiling the butter with water and adding it to dry ingredients, rather than a typical recipe that creams fat and sugar first before adding other wet ingredients, then dry. The overall flavor was good if a bit too sweet (the 1:1 flour to sugar ratio is really high), but I would never make them again and would not recommend the recipe at all.
Thanks for the feedback and for giving the recipe a try!
Wow Jennifer. Maybe a crash course in baking would help. My first time with this recipe turned out absolutely perfect and the cakes are awesome.
Second time making these. My family loves them! Thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome! We’re so glad the recipe is a family favorite!
I have made these several times and have now forwarded your recipe to two friends. Everyone loves them!
Awww, that’s wonderful! I’m so glad they all enjoyed the cakes as well.
So good! The recipe as written made 45 little cakes for me. I sprayed the mini muffin tins liberally with Bakers Joy and they fell right out of the pan after baking and cooking. The only change I made was to dip the bottom of the cake in the glaze (not the top), so they ended up looking the ones in the picture. It was the perfect amount of glaze for dipping them this way. Very light in texture and perfectly lemony.
Yay!! I’m so so happy to hear that the cakes were a success! Thanks for sharing and giving the recipe a try.
First of all, I didn’t glaze these because my husband started eating them before I had a chance. Secondly, I have to make more tonight because every single one is gone. These were amazing!!!
Yay!! I’m so glad they were a hit…. with or without the glaze. Thanks for sharing!
These look so good! I will have to try them! Thank you for sharing this!
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy!
Mine have a flour taste……..😭 why? I followed the recipe exactly!!!! Came out of the pan perfectly, cooked perfectly, glaze is perfect…I don’t understand why it has a flour taste.
I’m not sure why that could have happened. The only thing I can think of is to switch flour brands and see if that makes a difference? I’m sorry the recipe didn’t turn out as you had hoped.
I have people ask me for them….. Delicious 😋
No instructions to cool the batter off before you add the egg which is very important.
Recipe says scoop the batter into the pan, but the batter was very runny for me and I poured it into the pan. Not sure how that happened because I follow the instructions to a T.
Thanks so much for the feedback!