Originally published in 2013 (and loved ever since!), these sunshine sweet homemade lemon cupcakes are soft and moist, bursting with lemon flavor, and topped with my favorite vanilla buttercream. You’ll love the refreshing zest of citrus flavor in each bite!
How can you not smile sinking your teeth into one of these? The happiest cupcake in the world! Today’s homemade lemon cupcakes are incredibly soft and bursting with lemon, just like my lemon cake. Not too much lemon that you’ll squint your eyes and pucker up your lips, but just enough to give each bite a refreshing zest of citrus flavor. I top them with my favorite vanilla frosting. Sweet vanilla and zesty lemon complement each other wonderfully, though cream cheese frosting would also be delicious!
If these cupcakes look familiar, they probably areโwe double this recipe to make lemon blueberry cake, and we use the exact same base recipe for my lemon raspberry cupcakes and lemon cupcakes with blackberry cream cheese frosting. The gorgeous purple frosting is naturally colored and flavored with blackberriesโand is absolutely divine. We also used this as a starting point and experimented with different citrus flavors in our 6 inch citrus cake.
These Lemon Cupcakes Are
- Sunshine sweet
- Made with basic ingredients
- Bursting with lemon flavor
- A perfect balance of sweet and tart
- Easy to make
- Moist and buttery
- Fun to decorate
- Topped with vanilla buttercream
- A great lemon muffin recipe, too
Overview of Ingredients in Lemon Cupcakes
You need simple, everyday ingredients for today’s cupcakes. The ingredient list is similar to my lemon cake. Let’s review:
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the base of these cupcakes.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder helps the cupcakes rise.
- Salt: A little salt adds flavor.
- Butter: I favor using neutral oil in my cakes and cupcakes because it makes cakes exceptionally moist. However, when I’m looking for a buttery taste, I use butter. In one bite, all you’ll taste is sweet lemon + buttery vanilla flavor. Unbelievable!
- Sugar: We use all granulated sugar in this cupcake recipe.
- Eggs: 2 eggs add structure and richness.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds flavor. Try homemade vanilla extract.
- Milk: Milk adds moisture. I use whole milk, but any milk works.
- Lemons: We need 2 lemons for the cupcake batterโthe zest of two lemons & the juice of two lemons.
These would be so good filled with homemade lemon curd! See my chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes for how I fill cupcakes the easy way.
Want to add berries? Use my recipe for lemon blueberry cupcakes.
Frost With Vanilla Buttercream
When deciding what to frost these lemon cupcakes with, I turned to my trusty vanilla buttercream. It’s wonderfully soft and creamy, pipes beautifully (I used a Wilton 1M frosting tip for today’s cupcakes), and pairs perfectly with just about every flavor. I love how this sweet vanilla frosting complements the citrusy lemon cupcakes.
Sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting or a dollop of homemade whipped cream would also be wonderful choices. For even more lemon flavor, try my lemon buttercream. You could even top these with my favorite strawberry frosting (pictured below), or drizzle with raspberry sauce.
More Favorite Cupcake Recipes
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vanilla Cupcakes
- Strawberry Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Yellow Cupcakes
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Banana Cupcakes
Homemade Lemon Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: 12 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These sunshine sweet homemade lemon cupcakes with vanilla frosting are incredibly soft and bursting with lemon flavor!ย
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk*
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons lemon zest*
- 1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice*
- topping: vanilla buttercream and additional lemon slices
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until creamed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla extract, then beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, start the mixer on low speed, then slowly add the milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Once combined, stop the mixer. Do not overmix this batter.
- Spoon batter evenly into 12 cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 full. Bake for about 18-22 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean when they’re done. For aroundย 30 mini cupcakes, bake for about 11-13 minutes, same oven temperature. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting. I usually let them cool completely in the muffin pan.
- Frost cooled cupcakes with vanilla buttercream. If topping with lemon zest, do so right before serving. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cupcake.
- Leftover cupcakes keep well covered tightly in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cupcakes can be made ahead 1 day in advance, covered, and stored at room temperature. Frosting can also be made 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. Vanilla buttercreamย can thicken and stiffen in the refrigerator overnight, so use an electric mixer on low speed to beat in an extra splash of milk. Decorate cupcakes before serving. Frosted or unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester | Piping Bag (Disposable or Reusable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip
- Milk: I highly recommend whole milk for a rich and moist tasting cupcake, but any milk (dairy or nondairy) works in a pinch.
- Lemons: You need about 2-3 medium lemons to yield this amount of zest and juice.
- Garnish: Instead of a lemon slice, decorate the cupcakes with sprinkles, white chocolate chips, or even crushed hard lemon candies.
- Try my lemon blueberry cakeย next.ย It is theย same exact recipe, only doubled to make a layer cake.
- Be sure to check out myย 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakesย before you begin!
Reader Comments and Reviews
Easy to follow recipe and fantastic result. Very soft, fluffy cupcakes with delicious lemon flavour. I iced mine with passionfruit buttercream and it was extra delicious/zingy!
Can I use this recipe to make a cake instead of cupcakes?
Hi Bretanie, absolutely! This batter yields the perfect amount for a 3 layer 6-inch cake. If you need a larger cake, here is our lemon cake recipe.
Overall, the cupcake was moist but the lemon flavor was overpowering. thank goodness for the icing to help bounce it out, but if we made it again, we certainly would cut down on the amount of lemon juice and lemon zest.โฆ
I only have whole wheat flour and bread flour. Can I use either as a substitute?
Hi Valerie, we recommend waiting until you have all-purpose flour to make these cupcakes. Whole wheat flour will yeild a very dry, dense cupcake, and bread flour will yield a strangely chewy cupcake.
I’m making this into a cake and forgot to pick up unsalted butter, can I adjust the salt to avoid having to run to the store?
Hi Lori, absolutely. You can reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
Hi! Iโve used this recipe numerous of times and theyโre always a hit! ๐ Can I use this recipe to make lemon poppyseed cupcakes? How much poppyseed should I add for a single batch?
Hi Miriam! We would add a couple teaspoons of poppy seeds to the dry ingredients.
Can I use buttermilk for this recipe??
Buttermilk is ok but will give these a tangier taste.
Delicious! Made these and they came out perfect and taste good with vanilla buttercream.
Strange recipe, very pale despite being cooked through and taste a bit sour, I think from the lemon juice. Time to make cake popsโฆ
You might’ve had to bake them longer, the timing on the recipe is really just a suggestion, since it also depends on the oven.
You might’ve had to bake them longer, the time on the recipe is pretty much just a suggestion, since the time can depend on the oven.
These cupcakes taste amazing, although when I baked them they didnโt rise much, so Iโm wondering if I did something wrong
HI Andrea, weโre happy to help troubleshoot! Perhaps your baking powder is old? We find it can lose strength after just a few months of being open.