Lemon Cupcakes
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These are the very best tasting Lemon Cupcakes with lots of lemony flavor topped with a generous amount of lemon frosting.
December 15th is National Lemon Cupcake Day! You must celebrate by munching on some lemon cupcakes. The best way to do that is to bake this delicious recipe!
Share the lemon cupcake love on social media today using the hashtags #NationalLemonCupcakeDay, #LemonCupcakeDay and #RecipesForHolidays.
Be sure to follow my December Food Holidays page so you never miss a food holiday in the month of December!
“Happiness is only a cupcake away.”
-unknown
History of Cupcakes:
The first cupcake was invented in 1776. It was a light cake baked in small cups. Back in those days, cupcakes were called 1234 cakes. The basic cupcake recipe called for 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour and 4 eggs (plus 1 cup milk and a spoonful of baking soda).
Cupcakes gained in popularity in 1919 when Hostess began production of cupcakes.
Frosting wasn’t added to cupcakes until the 1920’s. Cupcakes were frosted with chocolate or vanilla frosting.
Cupcakes surged in popularity in the early 2000’s when cupcake bakeries like Magnolia started popping up. The TV show, Sex and the City featured Magnolia Bakery on their show… and all of the sudden there was a cupcake craze!
Ingredients Needed:
- all purpose flour
- baking powder and salt
- unsalted butter and salted butter
- granulated white sugar
- eggs
- finely grated lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice
- lemon extract and vanilla extract
- whole milk
- powdered sugar
- whipping cream
- yellow food coloring, optional
How to make Lemon Cupcakes:
The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
Preheat the oven to 375℉. Line two muffin pans with 15 liners.
PREPARE THE CUPCAKES:
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
- In a separate, larger bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to incorporate. Mix in the lemon zest, lemon extract and vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, ⅓ at a time, alternating with ½ of the milk after each of the first two additions of flour. Beat in the lemon juice, just until combined.
- Fill the prepared cupcakes liners with the batter (¾ full); bake 15 to 17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool before adding frosting.
MAKE THE FROSTING:
In a large bowl, with a hand or stand mixture, cream together the sugar and butter on low speed. Mix until well-blended. Increase the speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the lemon extract and 2 tablespoons of the cream and continue to beat on medium-speed for 1 minute more, adding a little more cream if needed for desired spreading/piping consistency.
FROST THE CUPCAKES:
Frost cupcakes using a piping bag, if desired. Or simply spread the frosting on top.
Tips and Substitutions:
Turn these into orange or lime cupcakes by substituting orange/lime juice, zest and flavoring!
How to store cupcakes:
Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one day. Use an airtight container with a tall lid to prevent the frosting from getting squished. If you’re storing multiple cupcakes, you can use a cupcake carrier.
Store cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days if you don’t plan to eat them within two days. However, refrigerating cupcakes can cause them to dry out, change texture, and absorb odors.
To freeze frosted cupcakes, you can set the frosting by leaving them uncovered on a baking sheet for about an hour. The frosting should be set when it no longer leaves an indentation if you touch it. You can then store the cupcakes in the freezer in a covered container.
What I Love About This Recipe:
- Lemon everything is amazing, including these cupcakes!
- These are pretty cupcakes for so many occasions- birthdays, baby showers, weddings and Mother’s Day!
- They are so easy to make, and they are much better than a boxed mix.
Fun Facts About Cupcakes:
- Over 800 million cupcakes are eaten in the United States every year.
- Chocolate is the most popular cupcake flavor.
- The world’s largest cupcake ever created was 1,200 pounds and had 2 million calories.
- The record for eating the most cupcakes is 29 cupcakes eaten in 30 seconds.
- Although Hostess cupcakes were invented in 1919, the man responsible for the seven-looped curlicue – which was added to Hostess cupcakes more than 30 years later – was DR ‘Doc’ Rice.
Lemon Cupcakes
Ingredients
CUPCAKES:
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
LEMON FROSTING:
- 4½ cups powdered sugar
- 1½ cups (3 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons lemon extract
- 2 to 4 tablespoons whipping cream
- yellow food coloring, as desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Line two muffin pans with 15 liners.
PREPARE THE CUPCAKES:
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
- In a separate, larger bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to incorporate. Mix in the lemon zest, lemon extract and vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, ⅓ at a time, alternating with ½ of the milk after each of the first two additions of flour. Beat in the lemon juice, just until combined.
- Fill the prepared cupcakes liners with the batter (¾ full); bake 15 to 17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool before adding frosting.
MAKE THE FROSTING:
- In a large bowl, with a hand or stand mixture, cream together the sugar and butter on low speed. Mix until well-blended. Increase the speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the lemon extract and 2 tablespoons of the cream and continue to beat on medium-speed for 1 minute more, adding a little more cream if needed for desired spreading/piping consistency.
FROST THE CUPCAKES:
- Frost cupcakes using a piping bag, if desired. Or simply spread the frosting on top.
