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4.59 from 24 votes

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

Easy Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream are soft and moist lemon cupcakes frosted with lemon buttercream.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Easy Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream, lemon cupcakes
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Author: Amanda Rettke--iambaker.net

Ingredients

Lemon Cupcakes

  • 1 ½ cups (187 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest
  • ½ cup (122.5 g) whole milk, room temperature, divided
  • 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided

Lemon Buttercream*

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1-3 teaspoons lemon extract
  • 2 teaspoons whole milk, or more as needed
  • 5 drops yellow food coloring, more or less as desired
  • 2 cups (250 g) confectioners' sugar, or more as needed

Instructions

Lemon Cupcakes

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-count cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a separate large mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • Add in the eggs one at a time, beating each egg until fully incorporated after each addition. Add vanilla and lemon zest. Beat until combined.
  • To the butter mixture, add about ⅓ of the flour mixture. Next, add half of the milk and lemon juice. Repeat the steps, ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined, making sure not to overmix.
  • Fill the prepared cupcake liners about ¾ full. Bake for about 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before removing them to finish cooling on a rack.
  • While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the buttercream.

Lemon Buttercream*

  • To a large mixing bowl, add butter, lemon extract, and milk. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat ingredients together until smooth. If desired, add yellow food coloring.
  • Add confectioners' sugar into butter mixture and beat on low speed until desired consistency is reached. You may want to add more sugar.
  • Frost each cupcake with the buttercream.

Video

Notes

*This recipe makes enough to do a smooth layer of frosting on each cupcake. There is not enough to do the mile-high swirls pictured.