Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
These lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are soft & moist, naturally flavored with lemon zest, and the ermine cream cheese frosting is smooth and pipeable! They're easy and ready in under an hour!
These moist lemon cupcakes are the perfect spring brunch recipe since they're so easy to dres up! Plus, they're just as soft and delicious after being refrigerated since you make these lemon cupcakes with oil.
Want to go beyond a basic lemon cupcake recipe? Make lemon cupcakes with lemon curd by filling the middle or simply drizzling it on top. You can even fill the cupcakes with this easy blueberry compote or make a cupcake version of this honey lemon cake by making lemon cupcakes with raspberry filling!
Recipe Overview: Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
✅ Recipe Name: Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
🕒 Ready In: 52 minutes
👪 Yield: 12 cupcakes
🍽 Calories: 470 calories (estimated)
🥣 Main Ingredients: lemon zest, flour, sugar, sour cream, eggs, oil.
👌 Difficulty: Easy - perfect for beginners
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Why You'll Love This Cupcake Recipe
- No extracts! This lemon cupcake recipe uses fresh lemon zest for true lemon flavor without a "perfume" taste.
- No artificial dyes! The lemon zest also pigments the batter, so you get a lovely yellow hue without food coloring!
- You can customize the recipe! Want lemon blueberry cupcakes? Fill them with an easy blueberry compote! Or fill them with strawberry preserves for strawberry lemon cupcakes.
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Key Ingredients
Lemon zest. These lemon cupcakes are flavored naturally with the zest only. This is where the fruity, citrusy flavor we love lives. Save the lemon juice for this blueberry lavender lemonade!
Flour. This lemon cupcake recipe uses flour in both components. Cake flour is used in the cupcakes since it has less gluten than all-purpose flour and will give softer cupcakes. In the frosting, all-purpose flour is used in the roux base of the ermine frosting.
Eggs. Separated with the whites whipped to help with leavening and give the cupcakes a spongy, soft texture.
Sour cream. Complements the tang of lemon zest without making the batter too acidic. Also, a way of sneaking more fat into the cupcakes to make them moist!
Oil. This fat is a liquid at room temperature, so it makes the cupcakes super moist! In addition, it's a blank canvas compared to butter and allows unadulterated lemon flavor to shine through.
Whipped cream cheese. Used in the ermine cream cheese frosting to complement the lemon cupcakes. Opt for the whipped version as it easily melts when making the roux paste.
How to Make Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Step 1: Whip the egg whites to soft peaks.
- Step 2: Rub the lemon zest into the sugar well!
- Step 3: Beat all the dry ingredients with the oil.
- Step 4: Add all the other wet ingredients.
- Step 5: Fold in the whipped egg whites, then pour the lemon cupcake batter into a cupcake pan.
- Step 6: Make the roux base for the cream cheese ermine frosting.
- Step 7: Whip the roux base with butter, then top the lemon cupcakes with the ermine cream cheese frosting and serve!
FAQs
It's important to use the zest for lemon flavoring in these easy lemon cupcakes. This is where true lemon flavor lives. The juice of the lemon will only make the cupcakes sour. To release the lemon flavor, rub the zest into the sugar until it resembles kinetic sand. This friction is what releases the essential oils that hold the lemon flavor, so the more you rub, the more lemon flavor your cupcakes will have!
You can, but I strongly suggest whipping it yourself beforehand or blending it if you find that easier. Whipped cream cheese melts more easily in the roux base compared to block cream cheese, which can leave you with tiny, stubborn lumps.
To avoid interrupting the rise, don't open the oven before 10 minutes have passed. You can test the cupcakes by pressing them lightly, it should spring back easily. Alternatively, you can use a toothpick or skewer. Take the cupcakes out when the toothpick comes out with a couple of crumbs; don't wait until it comes out clean.
Any frosting that isn't overly sweet will be perfect for this lemon cupcake recipe. The cream cheese ermine frosting has just a slight tang that complements the flavor without being overpowering. For an even easier, no-fuss frosting, you can use the Chantilly frosting I use for my homemade red velvet cupcakes and this layered lychee cake. It's light but pipes like a dream and holds its shape!
Italian meringue frosting is also a great option if you want a more decadent feel.
Ainseanlea's Top Cupcake Tips
- Use metric. The metric system (grams) is more precise than the imperial system (measuring cups). If you insist on using measuring cups, be sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cups, then level with a knife to avoid adding too much.
- Rub the zest into the sugar! True lemon flavor lives in the zest of the lemons, and friction helps to release that flavor. A trick I use in any of my lemon cake & cupcake recipes! Rubbing the zest into the sugar also contributes to a yellow hue in the cupcakes!
- Resist the urge to add vanilla extract. You'll notice that vanilla extract is omitted from this recipe. This is purposeful since I find that it muddies the bright citrus flavor.
- Make lemon cupcakes with lemon frosting by adding lemon zest when making the frosting. Just make sure you rub the lemon zest into the sugar for the frosting just as you do for the cake batter. This will give you maximum lemon flavor!
- Beat the batter for a full 2 minutes. These cupcakes use the reverse creaming method (also known as the biscuit method). Adding the fat to the dry ingredients coats the flour and inhibits excessive gluten formation. Beating for 2 minutes gives you control over how much gluten develops, giving the cupcakes structure and stability.
More Lemon Dessert Recipes You'll Love!
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Soft, Moist & Easy Lemon Cupcakes
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 375 °F
- Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on high speed until frothy. Once frothy, continue whipping while sprinkling about a tablespoon of the granulated sugar into the egg whites. Whip until the egg whites reach soft peaks, then transfer to another bowl and set aside.2 large eggs, separated, 175 g granulated sugar
- Add the rest of the granulated sugar and the lemon zest to the bowl of the stand mixer and rub the zest into the sugar for at least 2 minutes to release the flavor. It should resemble wet/kinetic sand once done.2 large lemons, zest only, 175 g granulated sugar
- Add the rest of the dry ingredients (cake flour, baking powder & salt) to the sugar/zest mixture and give a quick mix to evenly distribute.130 g cake flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Add the oil to your dry ingredients and beat on medium speed with a flat paddle attachment until combined.100 g neutral oil
- Add the egg yolks and sour cream to the flour mixture. Mix at medium speed for 2 full minutes.Stop the mixer about halfway through to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure that everything gets incorporated.2 large eggs, separated, 200 g sour cream
- Using a spatula, gently fold in the whipped egg whites from earlier by hand until completely incorporated.
- Pour the cupcake batter into a cupcake pan prepared with cupcake liners. Fill each cupcake three-quarters of the way.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375 °F or until the cupcakes spring back when pressed lightly.
- Add the sugar, all-purpose flour & milk to a saucepan and whisk to remove any clumps.200 g granulated sugar, 45 g all-purpose flour, 200 g whole milk
- Add the whipped cream cheese to the saucepan and whisk over medium heat until the mixture is smooth and has a glue-like consistency.113 g whipped cream cheese
- Transfer the roux base to a heat-resistant bowl, cover with lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool.
- Once the roux base has cooled, transfer it to the bowl of your stand mixer and whip at medium-high speed until a little fluffy.
- Add the butter 1-2 tablespoons at a time, allowing the mixer to run until the last chunk has been completely incorporated.225 g unsalted butter
- Transfer the ermine cream cheese frosting to a piping bag with your favorite piping tip.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, pipe the frosting on to the cupcakes in the desired shapes & enjoy!
- These cupcakes can sit out for up to 2 hours at room temperature, but after that they should be refrigerated due to the dairy in the frosting.
Nutrition
Notes
- If you opt for imperial measurements spoon the flour into the measuring cups, then level with a knife to avoid adding more flour than the recipe calls for
- If starting with block cream cheese for the frosting, whip it so that it dissolves more easily when making the roux base for the frosting. You can also blend it.
- Whip the egg whites for the cupcakes to soft peaks only. It will incorporate more easily into the batter.
