Lemon Cupcakes

The best lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!

This lemon cupcake recipe is made from scratch with cake flour, lemon zest, and freshly squeezed lemon juice for soft and tender cupcakes packed with a burst of natural lemon flavor.

I love lemon desserts like 3-ingredient lemon cookies, lemon bars, fluffy lemon cake, and these homemade lemon cupcakes. I seriously can’t get enough of that sweet and tangy combo–so delicious.

Lemon desserts are light and fresh, making them great for serving up during the Spring and Summer months.

They also make a wonderful dessert for Easter, Mother’s Day, bridal showers, or baby showers!

Ingredients

For the cupcakes you will need:

• 1 ½ cups cake flour (see notes below for an easy cake flour substitute)
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup whole milk
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• ¼ cup lemon juice

For the cream cheese frosting you will need:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Substitutions & variations

no cake flour? You can make a simple cake flour substitute with all-purpose flour and corn starch. Measure out 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, then remove 3 tablespoons of flour from your measurement. Replace with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, whisk together, then sift.

lemon cream cheese frosting – kick the lemon flavor up a notch by adding 2 Tablespoons lemon juice and 1 Tablespoon lemon zest to the lemon cupcake frosting.

How to Make Lemon Cupcakes

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside.

Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 

Step 3: Using a stand mixer or handheld mixer, beat the butter and sugar together for 2 minutes, or until creamed. 

Step 4: Add eggs one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated. 

Step 5: Slowly mix in half of the dry ingredients, half of the milk, and the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice; mix until well-combined.  Add the remaining dry ingredients and milk. Mix until fully combined and no lumps are visible. 

Step 6: Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners until about 2/3 full. 

Step 7: Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Step 8: In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until well blended and no clumps remain.

Step 9: Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add vanilla and beat until creamy.

Step 10: Pipe cream cheese frosting onto cupcakes using a knife or your favorite frosting tip, I used tip 1C. Garnish with a slice of lemon, if desired.

Storage

Prep ahead: Baked cupcakes can be made a day ahead of time and stored in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to frost and serve.

Refrigerator: Lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where they will keep for up to 3 days. Allow cupcakes to come to room temperature before serving.

More lemon dessert recipes

• lemon poke cake
• lemon icebox cake
• no-bake lemon lush dessert
• raspberry lemon layer cake
• lemon cookies with pudding mix
• lemon bundt cake

Lemon Cupcakes

Soft and tender lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, made from scratch with lemon juice and zest for a burst of natural lemon flavor.

4.37 from 82 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Calories: 492kcal

Author: Jaclyn Shimmel

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Ingredients

For the lemon cupcakes:

• 1 ½ cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup whole milk
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
• ¼ cup lemon juice

For the cream cheese frosting:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

• Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line the cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
• Using a stand mixer or handheld mixer, beat the butter and sugar together for 2 minutes, or until creamed. 
• Add eggs one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated. 
• Slowly mix in half of the dry ingredients, half of the milk, and the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice; mix until well-combined.  Add the remaining dry ingredients and milk. Mix until fully combined and no lumps are visible. 
• Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners until about ⅔ full. 
• Bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until well blended and no clumps remain.
• Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add vanilla and beat until creamy.
• Pipe onto cupcakes using a knife or your favorite frosting tip (we used tip 1C). Garnish with a slice of lemon, if desired.

Notes

Cake flour substitute: Measure out 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, then remove 3 tablespoons of flour from your measurement. Replace with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, whisk together, then sift.

Prep ahead: Baked cupcakes can be made a day ahead of time and stored in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to frost and serve.

Storage: Frosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 492kcal

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by a third party and intended to serve as an estimate only. The accuracy of nutritional information is not guaranteed.

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