Lemon Cupcakes {Easy Recipe}

Name: Lemon Cupcakes {Easy Recipe}
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 150 g Sugar; 150 g Butter; 3 Eggs; 150 g Self raising flour; 1 Lemon (Zest only (reserve lemon for the drizzle)); 1 tsp Lemon extract (See notes); 25 g Icing sugar; Lemon juice (From the zested lemon used in the cupcakes); 250 g Butter; 500 g Icing sugar; 1 tsp Lemon extract; 1/2 jar Lemon curd (Approx 160g)

These light, zesty Lemon Cupcakes are super easy to make and are finished off with a lemon buttercream and lemon curd drizzle – a little heavenly treat baked in just 20 minutes.

Lemon drizzle cupcakes topped with lemon buttercream and lemon curd topping.

These fluffy Lemon Cupcakes are an adaptation of my very popular Lemon Drizzle Cake. They’re just as tasty but come packaged in very cute form.

They also come with the addition of a divine topping you can sink your teeth into, making these a wonderful combination of sour and sweet, as well as super impressive for a gift, party or bake sale.

Why you’ll love this Homemade Lemon Cupcakes recipe

⭐️ Quick to make (even for beginners) but look impressive

⭐️ No fancy baking equipment necessary

⭐️ Moist, zesty, fluffy and delicious

Tops of lemon cupcakes with zesty moist drizzle.

Sarah’s Notes

This recipe comes with an incredible topping of lemon buttercream and lemon curd to give them extra flavour and the wow-factor to look at.

However, you can leave the toppings off if you prefer. They will still be delicious with just the lemon drizzle for flavour.

Easy Lemon Cupcakes Ingredients

For the cupcakes – Sugar, unsalted butter, eggs, self-raising flour and lemon zest
For the drizzle – Icing sugar and lemon juice
For the buttercream: Butter and icing sugar
Lemon extract – You will also need this for the cupcakes and buttercream. It’s really important to use a good quality lemon extract, not essence. An extract will contain flavouring produced from lemons, rather than an essence which is a chemically produced flavouring
To decorate: About half a jar of lemon curd

How to make Lemon Cupcakes

Egg, flour, butter and cake batter ingredients in a kitchen aid mixer bowl, ready to make Lemon Cupcakes.

1. Start by creaming your butter and sugar together, either using a mixer or wooden spoon. Add the eggs, flour, lemon extract, and lemon zest.

Cupcakes scooped into a muffin tin with a cupcake scoop ready to be baked.

2. Line a muffin tray with cupcake cases. Dollop your mixture evenly between them, then put into a preheated oven, as per the recipe below. Meanwhile, start making your lemon drizzle.

Baked cupcakes ready to have lemon drizzle topping poured over them.

3. Mix the juice from your zested lemon with some icing sugar and when the cupcakes are fresh from the oven, pour it over the top of each one.

Baked cupcakes having lemon drizzle poured over them for step 3 in the recipe for Lemon Cupcakes.

4. Allow the Lemon Cupcakes to cook in the tin while the drizzle sinks down into them.

TIP: Don’t over bake the cupcakes. Be sure to take them out of the oven when they are only JUST cooked as the heat in the pan will continue to cook them for a little while.

How to make Lemon Buttercream

Beat the butter until it is light, pale and fluffy.
Add in your icing sugar. If you can, sieve this before you add it in. It makes a big difference to the texture.
Continue to beat the mixture until everything is well mixed, wiping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. The longer you beat your buttercream, the lighter in texture it will be.
Finally, mix in your lemon extract.

How to Store Lemon Cupcakes

Store the cupcakes in an airtight tin or container for up to 5 days. Don’t store them in the fridge or they will become quite hard.

Freezer You can freeze these cupcakes for another day! Make sure you wrap them in a couple of layers of greaseproof paper for the freezer and defrost it at room temperature before eating.

Recipe Tips

You don’t NEED any of those items to bake these Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes, but they do make it easier and help to give that really special finish.

Disposable Piping Bags – These are a must-buy if you’re planning on some cake decorating. They are so easy to use. I know, these are not great for the environment. But using reusable bags takes so much detergent to get them clean, I’m honestly not sure of the best option.
Piping – I used this Wilton 1M piping nozzle to get the pretty swirls of the icing and lemon curd.
Microplane Zester – My secret weapon for any recipes with citrus zest. I know I’m a wimp but I used to hate making anything with lemon zest in before splashing out on one of these. They have SO many glowing reviews. You can buy them here on Amazon: Microplane Premium Zester.
Mixer – My much loved (now 10 year old!) mixer.
Ice cream scoop – I ALWAYS use a scoop for these cupcakes to get an even size

More easy baking recipes…

Sweet Things

Chocolate Cupcakes {Easiest EVER Recipe!}

Cakes

School Cake {Easy Recipe!}

Traybakes

Rocky Road {Best Ever Recipe!}

Cakes

Yoghurt Pot Cake {No Scales Needed!}

FAQs

Help! My buttercream is too stiff

If you buttercream is too stiff, add a teaspoon of boiling water, one at a time until it is a smooth pipe-able texture.

Do I have to use a piping bag for the toppings?

No, if you don’t have any you could always pop the icing and lemon curd on with a knife and spoon instead.

How do I keep Lemon Cupcakes moist?

Make sure you follow these steps:

1. Don’t over cook your cupcakes. They should be slightly golden and springy to the touch. If you aren’t sure if they are done, use a metal skewer to check. (Put your skewer into the middle of the cupcakes, it should come out clean).

2. Drizzle the lemon juice and icing sugar mixture on the cupcakes when they have just come out of the oven.

3. Eat the cupcakes within 2 days of baking (if they last that long!)

Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.

Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).