Best, quick and easy lemon cupcakes recipe, homemade with simple ingredients from scratch. Soft, moist and fluffy with fresh lemon zest and juice. Filled with lemon curd. Decorated with cream cheese frosting.
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If you are fond of my Lemon Bundt Cake (With Cake Mix) and my Moist Lemon Cake you have to try today's recipe. It's perfect for Easter, Spring Summer and also great for birthday parties and weddings. These taste just as good as they look and are so refreshing. Some other family favorites includes Lemon Blueberry Muffins, Lemon Fudge (2 Ingredients)and these. Easy Lemon Cookies that I can't stop eating.
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Ke ingredients
- Cream cheese frosting- A great combination to compliment the lemon flavor.
- Lemon curd- Add in the middle for a yummy surprise.
- Sour cream- Makes cupcakes moist with a nice texture.
- Milk- The higher fat content, the creamier it will be.
- Baking powder- Used as a rising agent for fluffy cupcakes.
- Sugar- The key to all that delicous sweetness.
- Flour- For this dessert, all-purpose works great.
- Egg- Be sure it is large and room temperature.
- Extracts- You will use both lemon and vanilla for this recipe.
- Lemons- Used for both the juice and zest.
Variations
- Add some blueberry flavor- Replace lemon curd filling with Blueberry Pie Filling or even blueberry jam. Decorate with fresh blueberries.
- Try a bit of raspberry- Replace lemon curd with Raspberry Pie Filling or even raspberry jam. Decorate with fresh raspberries.
- Lemon meringue version- Top the cupcakes with meringue frosting. These will have all the flavors of a classic meringue pie.
- Use poppy seeds- Mix in 1 tablespoon poppy seeds to the cake batter, to make cupcakes inspired by the classic lemon poppy seed cake and bread.
- Add crushed dried flowers- Such as lavender or elderflower in the cupcake batter. They smell heavenly and add a very subtle "flowery" taste.
- Make mini cupcakes- Use a mini cupcake pan to make smaller cupcakes. Watch them closely while baking to prevent them from becoming over-baked and dry.
- Decorating ideas- For birthdays, top off with a mini candle or sparkler. You can also toss yellow sprinkles. Another option is to top off with thinly sliced lemon slices and mint leaves. Fresh berries like strawberries, raspberries and blueberries always look elegant. Edible flowers is another pretty idea, especially if you are serving these at weddings. One more thing you can try is to pipe roses on top for a gourmet look. Check out this post on How to Pipe Red Rose Cupcakes. For further ideas, check out my post on How to Decorate Cupcakes (Piping). If you enjoy working with fondant, then consider making these Fondant Flowers or Fondant Pansy or Fondant Roses (Ribbon Roses). Many bakeries like to use Royal Icing Flowers (Sugar Flowers) for decor.
- Filling options- The classic choice is obviously lemon curd cupcakes because it truly enhances the zesty flavor. You can also try other fillings like various flavors of jams and spreads such as this Homemade Strawberry Jam. You can even fill them with fresh berries (e.g. raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries). Let's not forget about pie fillings such as this Peach Pie Filling or this Apple Pie Filling or this Strawberry Pie Filling. All of these fillings can be homemade or store-bought.
How to make easy lemon cupcakes recipe from scratch?
- Cream together- Butter and sugar.
- Whisk in- The egg until fully incorporated.
- Add in- Lemon juice, extracts, zest, milk, sour cream, and food coloring.
- Mix in- Flour and baking powder.
- Pour into pan- Bake until done.
- Allow to cool- Then fill with curd and top with frosting.
What frosting to pair with these cupcakes?
The classic choice is cream cheese frosting or American Buttercream Frosting. However, there are are many other delicious flavor combinations. Try out some of these pairings:
- Homemade Whipped Cream- Add a little lemon extract and zest flavor it.
- Maraschino Cherry Frosting- For all of you who are obsessed with cherries, this frosting is the best and pairs very well with lemon too.
- Orange Frosting- Bring on the citrus flavor with both, lemon and orange.
- Blackberry Buttercream Frosting- Another fruity frosting that compliments this cupcake flavor very well plus it has beautiful natural pinkish purple color.
- Strawberry Buttercream Frosting- Another berry-based frosting that compliments lemon.
- White Chocolate Buttercream- Semisweet or milk chocolate frosting are an awful pairing but white chocolate works super well.
- Seven Minute Frosting- A classic icing that works well on pretty much all cakes and cupcakes.
- Mango Frosting- Makes these cupcakes very exotic and tropical.
Tips and techniques
- All ingredients must be at room temperature– That’s because they blend together smoothly and evenly.
- Don’t over-mix cake batter- Because this will yield a tough and it can also cause the cake to collapse/sink during baking.
- Use unsalted butter- This prevents the cake from becoming too salty.
- Use full fat ingredients- Such as full fat sour cream, whole milk and real butter because that makes this cake rich and moist. No fat free or low fat ingredients!
- Only use all-purpose flour- I have tried other flours and they don't yield the same fluffy texture. The only other flour that still yielded good results was Homemade Cake Flour.
- Gel coloring is optional- I add a little yellow food coloring to make these cupcakes more vibrant but you can omit it, if you like.
- Temperature is key– Do not fill or frost these cupcakes until they have fully cooled down or else everything will melt into a big soggy, sticky mess.
- Fresh is always best- Use fresh lemon juice and zest for best flavor and aroma.
- If you have never filled cupcakes- Check out this detailed post on How to Make Filled Cupcakes (Stuffed).
Recipe FAQs
Not for this kind of filling. Cupcakes need to be cooled and then the curd added.
This can happen with runny fillings, especially if you do not serve them within an hour of making them. If made correctly, the lemon curd is less likely to do this because of its thickness. It's also important to wait until the cupcakes have fully cooled before filling them.
It's normal for filled cupcakes to be a bit messy. The original top of it won't be pretty after you pull out the center. That is why it is important to cover that part with delicious frosting.
If your frosting ends up being too thin to pipe, simply add powdered sugar to it a little at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
This is often due to over-baking. Be sure to watch the temperature and time. It is also important to measure all ingredients properly for best results.
Storage
- Refrigerate- Place in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
- Freeze- Store cupcakes, frosting and filling in individual sealed containers for up to 1 month. When you are ready to enjoy them, thaw to room temperature and assemble, per my instructions.
- Room temperature- Cover or store in a box for up to 2 days.
- Make ahead- These are great treats to prepare 1-2 days in advance.
More classic cupcakes
- Strawberry Cupcakes
- Blueberry Cupcakes
- Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes
- Easy Orange Cupcakes
Recipe
Easy Filled Lemon Cupcakes (Soft and Moist)
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Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter Unsalted, Room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 Egg Large, Room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Lemon extract
- 3 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon Lemon zest
- ½ cup Milk Preferably whole but 2% can be used, Room temperature
- ¼ cup Sour cream Full fat
- Yellow gel coloring Optional
- 1.5 cups All-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoon Baking powder
- 2 cups Lemon curd
- 3 cups Cream cheese frosting Can be flavored with 1 teaspoon lemon extract and 1 teaspoon lemon zest, if you like.
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and mix until smooth.
- Add vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon juice, lemon zest, milk, sour cream, yellow gel coloring (optional) and mix until combined.
- Add flour and baking powder and mix until just combined.
- Pour batter in cupcake liners and bake at 350 degrees F for about 18-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely to room temperature.
- While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, prepare the lemon curd and cream cheese frosting.
- Use Wilton's Filling Tip # 230 to fill each cupcake with lemon curd.
- Top off each cupcake with cream cheese frosting. To make them very pretty, use Wilton's Tip # 104 (petal tip) to decorate ruffle flowers, like I did. Enjoy!
Notes
- Do not over bake these cupcakes because that will make them dry.
- Don't frost warm cupcakes. They need to cool fully or else the icing will melt.
- Some other decorating ideas include topping with fresh slices of lemon, berries, mint leaves, edible flowers sprinkles, mini candles or sparklers for birthdays.
- Yellow gel coloring is optional but I like to add it in the batter to enhance the yellow color.
- Please use room temperature ingredients because they blend together better and more smoothly and evenly.
- Replace all the lemon flavors with limes or oranges to create a different citrus flavored cupcake.
- Use full fat ingredients for maximum richness.
- If you have time, sift the flour because it creates a more airy texture.
- Read additional tips and variations above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Pam
Do you hollow out the cupcakes before you fill them out do you just insert the tip and fill?
Abeer Rizvi
I have three techniques for filling cupcakes. They all work well. Check out the recipe card here: https://cakewhiz.com/how-to-fill-cupcakes/
Hope that helps.