I feel like I crave the flavors of summer all year long. There is something so magical about these Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream! The flavors. The light, warm, refreshing flavors of summer that tastes amazing any time of year!
Lemon Cupcakes
As much as I love the comforting aroma’s of pumpkin and spice, or the biting coolness of mint, or even the rich decadence of all things red velvet… I can’t help but crave the light citrusy tang of lemon. I slightly adapted my Cherry Limeade Cupcakes to make them lemon and boy was that a good idea! These cupcakes are infused with lemon before AND after baking! Lemon juice goes into the batter, you bake, and then brush each cupcake with more lemon juice hot out of the oven. It’s magical I tell you!
MY LATEST VIDEOS Strawberries go for about $5 a container at my local grocery store and lemons are $1 each! Since I didn’t win the lottery recently, I splurged and got just one lemon.
As far as the strawberry, I compromised and made a recipe utilizing strawberry jam instead of fresh. This worked beautifully! I was able to get the sweet hint of strawberries and not break the bank.
I stumbled upon a recipe using jam for the buttercream. This is quite a genius way to add a specific flavor to buttercream, as I noticed that the first ingredient in jam is sugar!
Now don’t look too closely at this picture or you might start seeing things. Ha! I can’t tell you how many people have told me these look like boobs. (Also, sorry for saying boobs on my blog.) But they do. I can’t deny it! They would be perfect for Breast Cancer Awareness month!
lemon cupcakes with strawberry buttercream
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
- 1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 c sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 c whole milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp. lemonjuice, divided
- 1 tbsp. lemon zest
Strawberry Buttercream
- 1 stick butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/3 c strawberry jam or preserves
- 3 c confectioners sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffins tins. (This recipe yielded 15 muffins for me.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In stand mixer with paddle attachment (starting on low), cream together room temperature butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add in eggs, one at a time and mix until just blended.
- Add in vanilla, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and milk and mix for about 30 seconds on low. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Remove from mixer then fold in lemon zest with spatula.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 18 to 20 minutes.
- Use pastry brush to brush remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice over the top of the cupcake.
- Let cupcakes cool completely and dry before topping with strawberry frosting.
Strawberry Buttercream
- Place butter, vanilla and jam in stand mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk on medium-high for 1-2 minutes, or until fully incorporated.
- With mixer on low, add in sugar, one cup at a time. When mixer starts to struggle, drizzle in milk one tablespoon at a time.
- After all milk as been added whisk buttercream on high for 1-2 minutes.
- To make cupcakes, put buttercream in a pastry bag with a large open tip. (or no tip at all, just the opening of the bag) and pipe out dollops on top of cooled cupcake.
- OPTIONAL: Sprinkle with gold Star Dust.
Recipe adapted from Cherry Limeade Cupcakes.
I hope you will make these today and enjoy a little summer-time flavor journey just like I did!
Amanda Rettke is the creator of I Am Baker, and the bestselling author of Surprise Inside Cakes: Amazing Cakes for Every Occasion – With a Little Something Extra Inside.Over the course of her 15+ year blogging adventure, she has been featured in and collaborated with the Food Network, New York Times, LA Times, Country Living Magazine, People Magazine, Epicurious, Brides, Romantic Homes, life:beautiful, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Mail, Star Tribune, The Globe and Mail, DailyCandy, YumSugar, The Knot, The Kitchn, and Parade, to name a few.
how many cupcakes does your recipe make?
15, she said it in the instructions
Hello! I am also curious how many cupcakes this recipe makes. Thank you!
Can I utilize this recipe for a sheet cake?
She said 15 muffins up there
These look beautiful! I’m going to try them this weekend. I have 2 questions: 1. Are these made in regular cupcake tins or muffin tins? 2: How do you get the frosting/icing to look like the picture – what “tip” did you use, and how?
Hi! Can you provide the link for the gold dust? I’ve searched around & haven’t been able to find something similar. Gorgeous cupcakes!!! Perfect for a little girl’s tea party 😍
The icing was not good. Maybe it was the strawberry preserves we used.
Hi Amanda. I noticed you have at least two or three recipes for lemon cupcakes or cake. Which is your personal favorite and why? Thanks!!
Best lemon cupcake recipe! Made them over and over, and they are a special treat
SO glad you like them!
If i made these The night before would they need to be REFRIGERATED ovee night?
This recipe seems to be amazing and looks fresh and bright – them cupcakes.
But, is there an egg less version available for the same?
Or anything which I can substitute for the eggs used?
Hey Amanda I wanna try to make this cupcakes tomorrow (cupcakeholic here!) so I have some questions:
1. how many grs are equivalent to 1 stick of butter? i could use a a cup to measure but I don’t think it’ll be too exact
2. I once tried to make icing with fresh strawberries and it came out a mess… do you think that using regular jam will look as even as yours? (Have you used some color in there?)
thank you!!!
1 stick = 113g
Yes, you can use jam as well as adding pink food coloring
Ypu are an awesome baker. I love watching your videos and tryong your recipes. Thank you for sharong with us. South africa
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