Luscious Lemon Cupcakes

A lemon cupcake on a marble cake plate, surrounded by more lemon cupcakes. The one in focus has bites missing, to show the lemon curd filling inside.

5 from 2 votes

Luscious Lemon Cupcakes

My Lemon Cupcakes are absolutely bursting with lemon flavor! These cupcakes are ultra soft, fluffy, and moist – thanks to the reverse creaming method – with tons of rich, buttery vanilla flavor, and lemon flavor. They're filled with lemon curd and topped with a lemon cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time50

Cook Time16

Total Time1 6

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Dessert

Keyword: Vanilla Cupcakes, Cupcakes

Servings: cupcakes

Author: Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

Lemon Curd

zest of 2 large lemons
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar 184 grams
3/4 cup + 1 tbsp lemon juice 198 grams (about 4-5 medium lemons, but weigh it out please!)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp salted butter, cubed 85 grams

For the Cupcakes:

4 large lemons, zested
1 cup granulated sugar 210 grams
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature 120 grams
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp milk, at room temperature 90 grams
1 tbsp warm water 15 grams
1/2 tsp vinegar
1 and 1/2 cups + 1 tbsp cake flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out 180 grams
3 tbsp light brown sugar, packed 36 grams
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
7 tbsp salted butter, softened at room temperature 100 grams
2 tbsp vegetable oil 27 grams
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste See Note below
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp salted butter, softened at room temperature 141 grams
3 cups to 3 and 1/3 cups powdered sugar 340 to 386 grams - adjust to taste!
1-2 tbsp milk To help things combine (15-30 grams)
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
pinch of salt, to taste
2 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature 57 grams
2-3 tbsp lemon juice, to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Lemon Curd Filling: Make the lemon curd according to my Homemade 20-Minute Lemon Curd recipe, or use a jar of store bought!
zest of 2 large lemons, 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar, 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp lemon juice, 4 large eggs, at room temperature , pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract , 6 tbsp salted butter, cubed
Prep: Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners, in preparation for 16-17 cupcakes.
Start the Batter: Add the granulated sugar to a medium mixing bowl, and rub in the lemon zest. The mixture will feel a little wet and sandy. Add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk well to combine. Add the softened butter and oil, and mix on low speed for about 30-60 seconds, just until the butter starts incorporating and you have a sandy mixture with some drier sandy bits, and some unevenly incorporated chunks of butter coated in flour.
4 large lemons, zested, 1 cup granulated sugar
Finish the Batter: In a 2-cup glass measuring cup, whisk together the sour cream, milk, water, and vinegar until combined. Add 2 tbsp of this mixture to the bowl of butter and flour. Mix on low speed just until the mixture starts to come together (no more dry bits!), but is still lumpy. (See photos in blog post above for a visual).
Then, add the vanilla and eggs to the remaining liquid mixture, lightly beating the eggs with a fork to break them up. Pour half this mixture into the bowl of batter with your mixer running on low. When it's almost incorporated, pour in the remaining liquid, mixing on low until just combined. Scrape the bowl to make sure everything is mixed in - a few small lumps is fine! Do not overmix.
1 and 1/2 cups + 1 tbsp cake flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out , 3 tbsp light brown sugar, packed, 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/8 tsp salt, 7 tbsp salted butter, softened at room temperature , 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp milk, at room temperature, 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature, 1 tbsp warm water, 1/2 tsp vinegar, 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste, 2 large eggs, at room temperature
Bake: Divide the batter evenly among your 16-17 cupcake papers. Fill them about 2/3 full, or use 52 grams of batter per cupcake (I like precision!).
Bake for 14 to 17 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should pull out moist crumbs, not wet batter.
Immediately use a butter knife to pop the cupcakes out of the hot pan, and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Frosting: While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat the butter until creamy, 30-60 seconds. Add the powdered sugar and mix until combined, using a bit of milk as needed to help things along.
Mix in the remaining frosting ingredients, adjusting to taste, beating in the cream cheese last (this helps prevent weepy frosting!). If for some reason your frosting is too soft or weepy, pop the bowl in the fridge or freezer to stiffen it back up.
Fill a piping bag fitted with an Ateco 1A tip, then pipe swirls of frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Use the back of an offset spatula or spoon to create a swirl in the center of the top of the frosting. Add an extra dollop of lemon curd!
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp salted butter, softened at room temperature , 3 cups to 3 and 1/3 cups powdered sugar, 1-2 tbsp milk, 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste, pinch of salt, to taste, 2 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature , 2-3 tbsp lemon juice, to taste
Serve + Store: Dig in immediately once the cupcakes are frosted! These keep well in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Let cold cupcakes come back to room temperature on the counter before enjoying (or eat them cold, if you like a denser texture!)
Freezing Instructions: These cupcakes freeze well with or without filling & frosting! Freeze in a freezer-safe container for 1-2 months. Let thaw on your counter for 1-2 hours before enjoying.

Notes

Vanilla Bean Paste: Vanilla bean paste gives a stronger vanilla flavor, but vanilla extract works as well.

A note about "odd" measurements: I already know someone is going to complain that the recipe yields 17 cupcakes (yes, this number bothers me too, but think of it as a 16 cupcake yield with a bonus cupcake for the baker!) or that the milk measurement is 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp, or that the butter amount is 7 tbsp. I realize these are odd numbers but this is the reality of a real person testing a recipe until they've perfected it - sometimes the amounts that produce the best possible version of a recipe don't fit into nice tidy boxes. I started with 80 grams of milk in this recipe, which fits nicely into that 1/3 measurement, but the recipe needed just a tad more moisture - hence the extra 10 grams of milk and the wonky measurement.

In the "American" system of measuring for baking, we are used to seeing measurements that fit into pre-determined intervals of 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, and 1 cup. But when baking in grams (like most of the world does), your measurements don't have to fit into those pre-determined intervals! A recipe calls for 100 grams of butter? Great! Weigh out 10o grams of butter. Does it call for 90 grams of milk? Great, weigh it out. Do you see where I'm going with this? I hope you'll forgive the occasional odd measurement and know that it came out of thorough recipe testing and baking science, and I hope you'll consider switching to a scale for baking! It's much more accurate.

Nutrition