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You are here: Home » Recipes » Dessert » Lemon Cupcakes

Lemon Cupcakes

Dessert

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The Best Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

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.

Lemon cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting and garnished with a slice of lemon

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!

6 lemon cupcakes topped with icing and candied lemon wedges.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes you will need:

Lemon cupcake ingredients: unsalted butter, baking powder, milk, lemon zest, granulated sugar, eggs, salt, lemon juice, cake flour, vanilla extract
  • 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:

Cream cheese frosting ingredients: sifted powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla extract, unsalted butter
  • 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. 

Left: cubed butter and sugar in bowl of a stand mixer; on right: creamed butter and sugar in bowl of stand mixer

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

Left: egg added at creamed sugar in bowl of stand mixer; right: egg mixed into batter

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. 

Left: dry ingredients and vanilla added to cake batter in bowl of stand mixer; right: ingredients fully combined into smooth batter in bowl of stand mixer

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.

Left: cupcakes liners in 12-cup muffin tin filled 2/3 of way with batter; right: baked cupcakes with golden tops

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.

left: cream cheese and butter in bowl, semi-combined; right: cream cheese frosting well-blended

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.

Lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and fresh lemon slices for garnish. Lemons and blue napkin are in background

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 topped with cream cheese frosting and garnished with a slice of lemon

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.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Please rate the recipe and leave a comment on the blog or share on social media and tag @crayonsandcravings!
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By Jaclyn Shimmel | 04/07/2021
Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes Tagged With: Cupcakes

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Comments

  1. Linda says

    11/15/2021 at 8:06 pm

    Can you freeze the cupcakes until needed then thaw and frost?

    Reply
    • Jaclyn Shimmel says

      11/16/2021 at 9:11 am

      Yes!

      Reply
  2. Melanie says

    12/20/2022 at 10:42 pm

    The best cupcakes ever!!

    Reply
  3. Judy says

    01/11/2023 at 8:59 pm

    I followed the recipe to the letter and they crumbled in your hand. What did I do wrong?

    Reply
    • Jaclyn Shimmel says

      01/16/2023 at 1:34 pm

      It is tough to say for sure but crumbly, dry cupcakes could be caused by the proportion of dry ingredients to wet ingredients being off, the batter being overmixed, or the cupcakes being overbaked. I find that a common issue is adding too much flour– Did you scoop the flour to measure it or did you spoon it into the measuring cup and level?

      Reply
  4. Katie J Donovan says

    03/02/2023 at 5:16 pm

    can you make these gluten free??

    Reply
    • Jaclyn Shimmel says

      03/03/2023 at 8:31 am

      I have not tried making these gluten-free myself.

      Reply
  5. Annie says

    03/27/2023 at 8:06 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve made the cupcakes and I love them! Can I use this recipe for a sheet cake? If so, how long should I bake it?

    Reply
    • Jaclyn Shimmel says

      03/28/2023 at 12:59 pm

      I am so glad that you enjoyed my lemon cupcake recipe! I haven’t tried using the recipe to make a cake but you can certainly give it a try. For a 9 x 13 sheet cake I would suggest doubling the recipe and baking for about 25-30 minutes. Peek in on the cake often after 20 mins since we aren’t sure how long it will take. Enjoy 🙂

      Reply
  6. Annie says

    03/29/2023 at 4:46 pm

    Can this recipe be used to make a sheet cake?

    Reply
    • Jaclyn Shimmel says

      03/29/2023 at 6:14 pm

      Hi Annie! I haven’t tried using the recipe to make a cake but you can certainly give it a try. For a 9 x 13 sheet cake I would suggest doubling the recipe and baking for about 25-30 minutes. Peek in on the cake often after 20 mins since we aren’t sure how long it will take. Enjoy 🙂

      Reply

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