Lemon Cupcakes {With Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting}

Moist & bright Lemon Cupcakes with a delicious homemade lemon cream frosting are the perfect summer dessert!!

For a summer dessert that is both sweet and tangy, Lemon Cupcakes are a must that fit the season so well! For more lemon treats, check out our Lemon Sheet Cake and Lemon Poppyseed Bread.

WE LOVE LEMON!

I have always loved lemon, and who doesn’t love a good cupcake, right?!

These Lemon Cupcakes were a cinch to put together and had the perfect lemon flavor, without being too tart. The icing on the cake (and quite literally) was the lemon cream frosting. SO good!

The batter alone was delicious and we found ourselves licking the bowl way too often. They baked to perfection and we were so glad we gave them a try.

Sometimes a sweet, fluffy cupcake is the best treat you can enjoy!! And in the summer time, a delicious lemon cupcake is even better.

Although the batter of this cupcake recipe has an amazing taste, we still think the creamy, fluffy lemon cream cheese frosting was the best. Top it off with a little lemon zest and it’s PERFECTION!!!

How to make Lemon Cupcakes

PREP. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan cups with paper liners.

DRY INGREDIENTS. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

SET INGREDIENTS. In another bowl, beat together butter, oil, sour cream, eggs, lemonade and lemon zest. Add dry ingredients and beat until creamy.

BAKE. Use a large cookie scoop to fill cupcake liners to about 2/3 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes.

FROSTING. Make frosting by beating together the cream cheese, butter, lemon zest and salt in a medium bowl, or in your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice and beat until smooth.

Once cupcakes are cool, pipe on frosting and add sprinkles or a lemon slice to garnish if desired.

Recipe Tips + Variations

Cake Flour: If all you have on hand is all purpose flour – not to worry! The difference between cake flour and all purpose flour is the protein content. All purpose flour has a higher protein content than cake flour. Since cake flour has a lower protein content, it produces a softer and fluffier cake. That is why it is preferred in this recipe. 

If all you have available is all purpose flour here is what we suggest:

1. Make your own homemade cake flour for this recipe by measuring 3 cups of all purpose flour and then removing 6 Tbsp.
2. Next, you will want to add 6 TBSP of cornstarch to the flour.
3. Sift this all together twice and then measure out your 3 cups of flour. (Sifting adds some air and will sometimes give you a little more than 3 cups).

There are many different flavors of frostings you can use for these cupcakes: 

Storing Info

STORE your finished lemon cupcakes at room temperature in airtight containers. These cupcakes will stay good for about a week at room temperature or stored in your fridge.

FREEZE these lemon cupcakes after they have been baked. Make sure they are completely cooled before freezing. You can freeze them whether they have been frosted or not, but freezing the frosting separately will give you the best results. The best way to freeze them would be to wrap them individually in plastic wrap to keep them fresh.

Then store them all in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months.

For more great cupcakes, check out:

Adapted from Allrecipes.com