Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

These moist Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting are perfectly soft and fluffy with wonderful flavor!

Lemon desserts are always a popular choice in the spring and summer months, and this recipe is our new go-to for lemon cupcakes! You will love them.

Don't miss our other recent cupcake recipes, including our vanilla cupcakes, margarita cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, and more!

Why we Love these Cupcakes

• They are ultra moist and soft with tender crumb

• Wonderful Lemony flavor

• Topped with Creamy Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• Perfect for spring and summer birthdays, showers, potlucks, or just because

• Guaranteed to please the lemon lovers in your life

How to Make Lemon Cupcakes

This recipe is based in part on our Lemon Buttermilk Cake Recipe which we love!

You can find the full, printable recipe card further down in this post. Here is a quick rundown of our steps!

• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and zest for 30 seconds. Set aside

• In another bowl, add the buttermilk, vegetable oil and lemon extract and lemon juice. Set aside.

• In the bowl of your electric mixer, add the butter and mix at medium speed until smooth. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. Gradually add the sugar and continue to mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy.

• Add the room temperature eggs one at a time mixing after each until the yellow of the yolk is blended.

• With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the cake flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of liquid).

• Mix just until incorporated. Be careful not to over-mix.

• Scoop about ¼ cup bake batter into each cupcake liner (in the cupcake pans)

• Bake at 350 degrees for 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just few crumbs attached. Remove immediately from the pans to prevent over-baking.

For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

There are many frostings that would taste amazing with lemon cupcakes (from strawberry frosting to coconut frosting, lemon buttercream, and more).

Today, we've chosen our Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting- it is one of our favorites! This smooth and creamy frosting is so simple to make and tastes amazing.

It is a simple combination of softened cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, lemon extract, and lemon juice.

Decorating the Cupcakes

Decorate the cooled cupcakes however you like! We used a large French piping tip 869.

When frosting cupcakes in this way, simply hover over the surface of the cupcake holding the piping bag vertically. As you pipe, the frosting will fan out to cover the top.

So pretty and simple!

We topped the cupcakes with small slices of fresh lemon.

More Lemon Cake Recipes

We've made so many Lemon Cake recipes over the years! Some of our most popular have been Lemon Cake from scratch, Lemon Velvet Cake, Lemon Buttermilk Cake, and Lemon Coconut Cake.

If you love bundt cakes, don't miss our Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake or Lemon Pound Cake recipes!

Here are just a few featured favorites:

Enjoy the Recipe!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Keep these cupcakes in mind for summer parties, birthdays, baby showers, and more!

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

BY Melissa and Bebe

These ultra moist homemade cupcakes are the best! So moist and flavorful!

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 16 minutes mins

Servings: 32 Cupcakes

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 ½ sticks 170g unsalted butter, softened ( holds it shape but dents when pressed)
• ▢ 2 cups (400g) sugar
• ▢ 3 eggs (room temperature)
• ▢ 3 cups (342g) cake flour (spooned into measuring cup and leveled off) If you do not have cake flour see substitution in Notes below.
• ▢ 2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon (3g) baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
• ▢ 1 ¼ cups (296g) buttermilk — if you do not have buttermilk, see substitution below
• ▢ ¼ cup (57g) lemon juice
• ▢ ⅓ cup (68g) vegetable oil we use canola oil
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon (10g) Lemon Extract
• ▢ Zest of two lemons

For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• ▢ 2 sticks 226g unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
• ▢ 16 oz (453g) Cream Cheese, softened (This is two 8 oz packages) Use full fat cream cheese.
• ▢ 2 teaspoons (8g) lemon juice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon (4g) lemon extract
• ▢ Zest from 1 lemon, Optional approximately 1 ½ teaspoons (3g)
• ▢ 6 to 6 ½ cups 690g - 747g powdered sugar (Start with 6 cups, and adjust to your liking)

Instructions

For the Lemon Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, add paper cupcake liners to cupcake pan(s)
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and zest for 30 seconds. Set aside
• In another bowl, add the buttermilk, oil and lemon extract and lemon juice. Set aside..
• In the bowl of your mixer, add the butter and mix at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and continue to mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each until the yellow of the yolk has blended.
• With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of liquid).
• Mix just until incorporated. Be careful not to over-mix.
• Scoop about ¼ cup bake batter into each cupcake liner (in the cupcake pans)
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just few crumbs attached. Remove immediately from the pans to prevent over-baking. Baking times can vary depending on pan & oven- check at 15 minutes to be on the safe side.
• Makes 32 cupcakes

For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• Add the softened butter to the bowl of your mixer, mix until smooth.
• Cut the softened cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, mixing until blended.
• Add the lemon juice and lemon zest. 1 teaspoon lemon extract, for a stronger lemon flavor.
• Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until well blended.
• This frosting will pipe best if used while still chilled. You can make it in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use let it soften slightly and remix. Do not microwave to soften. If the frosting becomes too soft while using just refrigerate the piping bag or bowl for a short while to firm it up.

Notes

Substitute for Buttermilk: No Buttermilk? Here is a substitution: To a measuring cup, add 1 Tablespoon plus one teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice. Add milk to the 1 ¼ c. mark, stir. Wait 5 minutes and it is ready to use.

Substitution for Cake Flour: Using all purpose flour (plain in UK) to make Cake Flour: For each cup of flour in a recipe, remove 2 Tablespoons of flour and replace with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour in the UK). This recipe has 3 cups of flour so you will measure out 3 cups of all purpose flour, remove 6 Tablespoons and replace with 6 Tablespoons cornstarch, whisk to blend

Recipe makes approximately 7 ½ cups batter.

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