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Lemon Cupcakes | prettysimplesweet.com

Lemon Cupcakes

These moist vanilla cupcakes are bursting with tangy lemon flavor! Made with fresh lemon juicy and lemon zest, these cupcakes are topped with creamy lemon-vanilla buttercream. They're easy to make and a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
YIELD 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

Lemon Cupcakes:

  • 1 ⅓ cups (185g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • ½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (90 ml) whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

Lemon Buttercream Frosting:*

  • ½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 ½ – 2 ½ cups (180-280g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream (or whole milk)
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Instructions

  1. For the cupcakes:

    Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Set aside.

  2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another small bowl, toss together sugar and lemon zest until combined.
  3. Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and lemon-sugar mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. On medium speed, beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Add milk and lemon juice and beat until combined. Add the other half of the dry ingredients and beat slowly until just combined. Do not overmix – the less you mix, the lighter the cupcakes will be.
  4. Divide batter evenly between the cups, filling them about ¾ full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

  5. For the frosting:

    In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until smooth, creamy, and the consistency is similar to mayonnaise, about 2 minutes. Add ¾ cup (90g) powdered sugar and beat well until smooth. Add cream, lemon juice, and lemon zest and beat until combined and smooth. Add another ¾ cup sugar and beat until completely smooth and fluffy. Beat in more sugar as needed, until desired consistency (thick enough to pipe). Frost cupcakes once they’ve cooled.

  6. To add lemon curd filling:

    Once the cupcakes have cooled, cut a ¼-inch - ½-inch hole in the center of each cupcake using a knife. Use a piping bag** to fill each hole with lemon curd, then top the the cupcakes with buttercream as you normally would.

  7. Unfrosted cupcakes can be kept tightly covered at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw, still covered, on the counter or overnight in the fridge.

Recipe Notes

*This amount of frosting is enough for me to frost exactly 12 cupcakes, but I don't use a lot of frosting for each cupcake (as you can see in the photos above). If you want more frosting, multiply the frosting recipe by 1.5.

 

**If you don't have a piping bag, you can use a large Ziploc bag instead. Fill the bag with lemon curd then snip the corner to easily fill the cupcakes.