Lemon Cupcakes

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Fresh and zesty Lemon Cupcakes with the silkiest, smoothest lemon frosting. These delicate cupcakes will brighten up any dessert table.

Prep Time30

Total Time30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 570kcal

Prepare your cupcake tin by lining it with muffin liners and preheat your oven to 175℃ / 347℉ (no fan).
In a large bowl, cream the room-temperature butter and sugar for a few minutes until it's light and fluffy, then whip in the room temperature eggs one by one, and finally mix in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. This is your dry ingredients. Reduce the mixer speed to low speed and add the dry ingredients in thirds alternating with the room temperature milk. Do not overmix the batter at this point.
In a small bowl, mix vinegar with the baking soda. It will be super bubbly. Then, immediately fold the vinegar mixture into the batter just until it's combined.
Pipe or spoon the batter evenly into the cavities of your cupcake tin, filling each one about ¾ full.
Bake the cupcake for about 20-22 minutes at 175℃ / 347℉ or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake them, as they can dry out.
Cool the baked cupcakes on a cooling rack. They must be at room temperature before frosting.

Using your electric hand mixer, cream the room-temperature softened butter at medium-high speed for 3 minutes until it becomes light in color and fluffy in texture.
Next, add the sifted powdered sugar and continue whipping for another 2 minutes until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
Then add the full fat cream cheese and vanilla extract and continue whipping for 2 more minutes.
Now, very slowly, start adding the lemon juice while the mixer is running. You can stop whipping once the lemon juice is incorporated.
Transfer the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle and chill it for 30 minutes before using. Then, frost the cupcakes one by one, and decorate them according to your liking with fresh fruits, lemon slices, fresh herbs like mint or sprinkles.
The cupcakes are best served fresh. Any leftovers can be stored refrigerated for 2-3 days in an air-tight container.

The frosting recipe above is enough to frost 12 Lemon cupcakes generously.

You might be able to make more or less cupcakes with this recipe, depending on the size of the cupcake tin cavities.

Ingredient notes:

Measure your ingredients with a Digital scale for accuracy.
All cupcake ingredients must be at room temperature to properly emulsify: eggs, butter, and milk.
The baking soda and vinegar mixture is my signature baking hack to make cupcakes super moist and fluffy, do not skip it.
For the frosting, cream cheese needs to be high in fat. Using the low-fat version may result in a thinner frosting due to the excess water content.
It is key to use high quality vanilla for the best flavor, feel free to try my homemade vanilla extract.

Technique notes:

Make sure you read my Expert tips section above to maximize your success. A short recipe alone is not able to cover all the necessary details, and science behind baking.
A digital scale is required for a consistent, happy baking experience.
Do not overwork the cupcake batter. After whipping the wet ingredients, switch to a rubber spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients.
Always preheat your oven and consider using a digital oven thermometer for the best results.
When whipping in the eggs and milk, make sure they are all at room temperature. Otherwise, the batter will break.
Baking these cupcakes takes 22 minutes in my oven. However, you should focus on the texture, not the time. Apply the toothpick test (it should come out clean) to avoid overbaked cupcakes. Do not overbake them, as that will result in a dry texture.
Adding the lemon juice to the frosting needs to happen very slowly step-by-step or the frosting might break.
Because softened butter is being used, the frosting may still be on the softer side right after it's whipped. If this is the case, chill it for 30 minutes before piping. However, if it's chilled for too long, the butter will solidify, and you might find it difficult to pipe. If this happens, you need to let it soften a little before using it.