Posted Apr 30, 2023, Updated Mar 04, 2024 This lemon cupcake recipe is a delicious dessert to make any time of the year. They are light and sweet and infused with lemon juice and zest for a bold lemon flavor. Lemon cupcakes are easy to make with a handful of simple ingredients. You can prepare them in advance by baking them and freezing to frost and serve later.
Lemon Cupcake Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions
All-purpose flour. cake flour can be used in place of all-purpose flour. Salted butter. Unsalted butter works well too. You can replace up to half of the butter with canola oil. Granulated sugar. organic cane sugar or regular white sugar are both good choices. Sour cream. full-fat Greek yogurt is a great substitute. Whole milk. Heavy cream or half and half can be used in place of whole milk. Lemon juice. use freshly squeezed or bottled juice. Lemon zest. This is optional, but recommend for a bold lemon flavor.
How to Make Lemon Cupcakes
Let’s walk through this lemon cupcake recipe step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video! Begin by combining the dry ingredients (but not the sugar) in a medium bowl, then set the mixture aside. Next, cream together the butter and sugar together for 1 minute. This can be done by hand, in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer. Next, add eggs and vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Then add the sour cream, milk and lemon juice and stir until combined. Next, add the dry ingredients and lemon zest to the wet ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth.
Bake
Once the batter is ready, fill each cupcake liner with ¼ cup batter. Then, bake the lemon cupcakes in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are set and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Transfer the baking pans to a wire cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove the lemon cupcakes from the pan and let them cool completely on the wire cooling rack.
Frost & Serve
Once cool, frost the lemon cupcakes with your favorite frosting and serve. I suggest this lemon buttercream frosting, vanilla buttercream frosting or homemade vanilla frosting for the best results! You can also fill them with lemon curd! Transfer the frosted cupcakes to a serving plate and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. I like to chill them for at least 30 minutes so the frosting sets.
Store
Store these cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Freeze
To freeze, follow the recipe and let the cupcakes cool completely. Then transfer the cupcakes (frosted or unfrosted) to an airtight container and freeze in a single layer until you’re ready to frost and serve. Thaw at room temperature (do not microwave or heat in the oven). If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
