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Lemon Cupcakes

4.58 from 7 votes
76 comments
December 9, 2024
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Bright, zesty, and perfectly sweet, these Lemon Cupcakes are a refreshing twist on a classic dessert. With a fluffy texture and a creamy lemon buttercream frosting, they’re the ultimate treat for lemon lovers.

Three lemon cupcakes with creamy frosting sit on a cooling rack. A halved lemon is in the background on a plate.

Why You’ll Love This Lemon Cupcake Recipe

These lemon cupcakes are an absolute must-try for anyone who loves a bright, citrusy dessert. The fresh lemon zest and creamy lemon buttercream frosting create a perfect balance of sweetness and tanginess in every bite. Their soft, fluffy texture and moist crumbs make them feel bakery-quality, but they’re easy enough to whip up at home. Whether you’re a lemon lover or just looking for a fresh take on a classic cupcake, this recipe is sure to become one of your favorite desserts.

Ingredients for baking arranged on a countertop include butter cubes, sugar, lemon zest, eggs, lemon halves, baking powder, salt, milk, flour, and vanilla extract.

Ingredients Needed for Lemon Cupcakes

Here’s everything you’ll need to gather up:

For the Cupcakes-

  • Butter: Softened for easy creaming.
  • Eggs: Provide structure and richness.
  • Fresh Lemon Zest: The star of the show, adding bright lemon flavor.
  • Milk: Creates a moist batter.
  • Pantry Staples: all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, vanilla extract, granulated sugar

For the Frosting-

  • Heavy Cream: Whipped for a light, airy texture.
  • Butter: Room temperature butter is key for creamy frosting.
  • Vanilla Extract: Complements the lemon.
  • Fresh Lemon Zest: For extra citrus flavor.
  • Powdered Sugar: Sweetens and thickens the frosting.
  • Milk: Adjusts the frosting consistency.
  • Optional Garnish: A sprinkle of lemon zest for a finishing touch.

Variations

  • Gluten-Free: Swap all-purpose flour for a high-quality gluten-free blend.
  • Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes: Fold fresh or frozen blueberries into the batter.
  • Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting: Replace butter in the frosting with cream cheese for a tangy twist.
  • Small Batch: Halve the recipe for a smaller yield.
Twelve golden muffins cooling on a wire rack, set on a flower-patterned cloth background.

How to Make Lemon Cupcakes

For full recipe details, including ingredient measurements, see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here are my step by step directions for making these homemade lemon cupcakes:

1. Preheat Oven + Prep Pan

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners and set aside.

Muffin tin lined with paper cups on a countertop, with a halved lemon in the background.

2. Cream Butter + Sugar

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or using an electric hand mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Diced butter in a glass bowl on a countertop, with halved lemons and a gray cloth nearby.
A glass bowl contains sugar and diced butter on a counter. A lemon half and a gray cloth are in the background.
A hand mixer blending butter and sugar in a clear glass bowl, with a halved lemon and a towel visible in the background.

3. Add Wet Ingredients

Mix in eggs, vanilla extract, and fresh lemon zest. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is combined.

A glass bowl with creamed butter and sugar, two cracked eggs, and vanilla extract on a marble counter. Halved lemons and a kitchen towel are in the background.
A mixing bowl with yellow batter being mixed by an electric hand mixer. Halved lemons and a white cloth are in the background on a counter.
A person mixing a creamy batter in a glass bowl with a spatula. Halved lemons are visible in the background.

4. Add in Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour mixture (flour, baking powder, and salt). Add this to the wet ingredients alternately with milk on low speed until just combined.

A bowl of white flour on a countertop, with a yellow mixture visible in the background.
A glass bowl with yellow batter, a spoon holds flour over it. Halved lemons lie in the background.
A hand mixer blending flour into a creamy batter in a clear glass bowl.
A glass bowl with cake batter is being poured with milk, with halved lemons in the background.
A handheld electric mixer beating creamy yellow batter in a glass bowl on a speckled countertop.
A hand mixer is blending batter in a glass bowl on a kitchen counter. Two halved lemons are in the background.

5. Bake

Bake: Divide the cupcake batter evenly into the cupcake tins. Reduce the oven temperature to 325° F and bake for 20-25 minutes. Use a cake tester to check for moist crumbs in the center of the cupcake. Cool on a wire rack.

Pro Tip: The last thing you want to do is over-bake these! Watch them like a hawk!

Hand using a scoop to fill a muffin tray with batter, placed on a wire rack.
Muffin tin with twelve paper liners filled with uncooked vanilla batter, placed on a wire rack.
A tray of twelve freshly baked muffins in a muffin tin on a light-colored countertop.

6. Make the Frosting

Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks and set aside. Cream butter, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until smooth, then fold in the whipped cream.

Electric mixer whipping cream in a glass bowl, with halved lemons and a whisk nearby on a countertop.
Two hands holding a glass bowl of whipped cream over a countertop with a whisk, halved lemons, and a sifter in the background.
Cubed butter and lemon zest in a glass bowl, with a whisk, sifter, powdered sugar, and halved lemons on a cutting board in the background.
Mixer blending a mixture in a glass bowl as milk is being poured in. Nearby are a half lemon and a cloth.
A mixing bowl with yellow batter and a spatula adding whipped cream. Two halved lemons and an empty glass bowl are in the background.
A bowl of creamy batter on a countertop, with a whisk, halved lemon, and a sifter containing flour nearby.

7. Frost Cupcakes

Frost: Use a piping bag with a star tip or an offset spatula to frost the tops of the cupcakes. Garnish with lemon zest if desired.

Person decorating a cupcake with white frosting on a white plate.
A hand pipes frosting onto a cupcake on a white plate, with a fork and a lemon slice in the background.
A lemon cupcake with frosting and lemon zest sits on a striped plate. In the background, more cupcakes and lemon halves are visible.

Storage + Make Ahead Directions for Lemon Cupcakes

Keep frosted cupcakes in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Let them come to room temperature before serving.

To Make Ahead: Bake the cupcakes a day in advance and store in an airtight container. Prepare the frosting fresh for the best texture.

To Freeze: Store unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container with layers separated by plastic wrap for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before frosting.

Cupcakes with white frosting and lemon zest on plates, accompanied by halved lemons, a spoon of zest, and forks on a gray napkin.

More Lemon Cake Recipes to Try!

If you’re a lemon lover, you are in luck! I have several lemon desserts, here are a few of my favorites!

A partially eaten lemon cupcake with creamy frosting on a plate, surrounded by lemon halves and a fork.

These fluffy lemon cupcakes with their creamy lemon buttercream frosting are the perfect balance of sweetness and citrusy brightness. Make these for a baby shower, a casual weekend treat, or simply because you love lemon desserts! Any reason, they’re sure to be a hit. The printable recipe card is below. Have a great day, friends! 🙂

If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.

Three lemon cupcakes with creamy frosting sit on a cooling rack. A halved lemon is in the background on a plate.
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4.58 from 7 votes

Lemon Cupcakes

These lemon cupcakes with a lemon mousse frosting are made with really simple ingredients that we all have on hand, but what makes them extra special is the frosting!
servings 12 cupcakes
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

for the cupcakes-

for the frosting-

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest for garnish, optional
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

for the cupcakes-

  • Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
  • In large bowl, whip butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs, vanilla and lemon zest. Scrape sides and whip again.
  • Slowly stir in dry ingredients and then stream in milk. Scrape sides and mix until batter is just combined.
  • Scoop by the spoonful into prepared muffin tins evenly. Reduce oven temperature to 325° and bake 20-25 minutes or until just baked. (The last thing you want to do is over-bake these! Watch them like a hawk!) Remove from oven and cool completely.

for the frosting-

  • Whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Remove from bowl and set aside.
  • In the same bowl, whip butter, vanilla extract, lemon zest and powdered sugar for about a minute. You just want to break the butter up in the powdered sugar.
  • With the mixer on, stream in the milk until the frosting starts coming together. Scrape the sides and whip it on high for about 2 minutes. Fold in the cream carefully.
  • Once it’s all incorporated, you can frost your cupcakes. I used a piping bag with Wilton tip #1M, but doing it old school with a knife is totally fine too. Serve.
  • If there are leftovers, store in the fridge.

Nutrition

Calories: 422kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 254mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 47g | Vitamin A: 681IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: lemon cupcakes, mousse frosting
4.58 from 7 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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76 Responses
  1. Carol
    Reply

    Can I freeze the cupcakes and the icing? I am baking several dozen cupcakes & would like to use your recipe but want to be able to freeze them, too many to bake. Thank you!

    1. Lauren
      Reply

      You can definitely freeze the cupcakes, but not so sure about the frosting. I’ve never thought to make it ahead.

  2. Marie
    Reply

    I made these and they are delicious and the frosting is amazing. I was wondering what mistake I could have made in the blending of the cake batter that made it more like a muffin texture than a cupcake? I used cake flour and followed the instructions as written. Is the cake supposed to me like a muffin…a little on the denser side?

  3. April
    Reply

    Has anyone tried making these with a little lemon juice added and been successful? I only saw one other post and unfortunately, her cupcakes fell flat. Wondering if that had to do with adding juice or something else. I would love to make these but can’t imagine that just the zest will give it a lemony enough flavor for my lemon-loving family. 🙂

  5. Stephanie
    Reply

    I love lemon cake but I always find they turn out tough and dense. I imagine it has something to do with the acid in the lemon juice? Lemon drizzle is fine as dense cake, but I am forever disappointed with the density of a lemon cupcake which I want to be light.

  6. Josie
    Reply

    what kind of butter are you using? salted or unsalted?

    I am a novice at baking cakes from scratch and a lemon chocolate lover.
    I would love to try this out one day soon.

  7. Pia
    Reply

    hi Lauren
    I am exactly like you, L O V E lemon so much. I have a little problem to make this and your’e other beutiful recipes because I live in Sweden/Europe so please, please can you write this and all your’e recipes in grams so I and a lot of other people coul’d easyeer bake it??
    Thanx

  10. domain
    Reply

    Superb post however , I was wanting to know if you could
    write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit further.
    Cheers!

  12. Monday Links to Love | buttons & blossoms
    Reply

    […] * And to keep on eating, I am going to try these lemon cupcakes with lemon mousse frosting […]

  13. Lauren
    Reply

    I’m making these for a baby shower. Can I make the cupcake part early and freeze them. Basso, do u know how much time is needed to cook mini size?

  15. Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Mousse Frosting — Cupcake Pictures
    Reply

    […] by admin These lemon cupcakes are tasty and moist. They’re not only delicious, they’re also very easy to whip up. If you’re craving for a sweet snack and don’t have time to make something more intricate, turn to this lemon cupcakes! You need only simple ingredients that you need for a vanilla cupcake, just add in some lemon zest. What makes these cupcakes extra special, however, is the frosting. Make sure you don’t forget the frosting. They’re really easy with lemon zest, whipped cream and powdered sugar! Now your sweet afternoon is complete! Source Lauren’s Latest […]

  16. Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Mousse Frosting | The art of cupcake
    Reply

    […] These lemon cupcakes are tasty and moist. They’re not only delicious, they’re also very easy to whip up. If you’re craving for a sweet snack and don’t have time to make something more intricate, turn to this lemon cupcakes! You need only simple ingredients that you need for a vanilla cupcake, just add in some lemon zest. What makes these cupcakes extra special, however, is the frosting. Make sure you don’t forget the frosting. They’re really easy with lemon zest, whipped cream and powdered sugar! Now your sweet afternoon is complete! Source Lauren’s Latest […]

  17. Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Mousse Frosting « The Cupcake Blog
    Reply

    […] with lemon zest, whipped cream and powdered sugar! Now your sweet afternoon is complete! Source Lauren’s Latest Share : Pin ItTweet Posted by Miss Cupcake in Fruit Cupcakes and tagged with Lemon Cupcakes, […]

  18. Thanksgiving Recipe Round-Up
    Reply

    […] Their Pod Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifles by My Baking Addiction Black Bean Brownies by Mrs January Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Mousse Frosting Mini Turtle Brownies by Iowa Girl Eats Salted Caramel Cheesecake Pie by Joy the Baker Classic Apple […]

  19. Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Mousse Frosting
    Reply

    […] Lemon Mousse Frosting are light and fluffy with add in some whipped cream.If you like lemon you must try these recipe, which you can find at: https://laurenslatest.com/lemon-cupcakes-with-lemon-mousse-frosting/ […]

  20. moira
    Reply

    Hi Lauren,
    I was cruising the internet looking for a lemon cupcake and will try this recipe for a party this weekend. Have you ever used buttermilk instead of milk or mixed the two? I do not fool with a recipe when I make it the first time….just wondering? And by the way, I am a card carrying chocoholic, but I, too, love lemon especially when the temps heat up. Nothing more refreshing to end a summer meal. But..the combination of citrus and chocolate is also a great one.

  21. Susan
    Reply

    My mother LOVES lemon desserts! As a matter of fact I kinda make fun of her because of her obsession:) As soon as I saw this recipe I emailed it to her. She’s so excited to make them…and I’m even more excited to try one (or two)! 🙂

  22. Heather
    Reply

    I knew these would be decadent! I made these for my hubby on sweetest day-his favorite dessert is LEMON. We ate them all in one sitting!!

  23. Kathie
    Reply

    I can’t wait to try this recipe. It’s been hard finding homemade, from scratch (no box mix) cupcake recipes. Thanks for posting!

  24. Jillian
    Reply

    Oh Lemon. My favorite of all flavours. I was a liitle surprised by there being only lemon zest in this recipe and no juice? It’s in my recipes to try but I’m wondering how lemony it is considering…

  25. Lindsey
    Reply

    Hi Lauren!
    These cupcakes look so delicious, I had to give them a try! But both times I made these, they were a miserable fail. I followed your recipe exactly except for adding some lemon juice. The batter tastes great, but when I bake them, they rise up super high and all over my cupcake pan/into the oven then fall to nothing but about a teaspoon full of uncooked goo. I thought I had filled my cupcake pan too full the first time. The second time, I only put half or less in my pan and still had the same results. Could you please tell me what is going wrong? I come from a family of lemon lovers and would love to make this yummy recipe for them! 🙂

    1. Mandi
      Reply

      Hope you don’t mind if I jump in here, Lauren…

      Lindsey, it sounds like a chemical reaction. Is it possible that you used baking soda instead of baking powered [I’ve done this more times than I can count – that’s how I thought of it ;)]? The soda and the acid lemon juice will react [exactly like baking soda and vinegar] and cause a really nice, overflowing mess. Another thought I had is that possibly you used a tablespoon of baking powder instead of teaspoon when measuring? I’ve done that before too.

      Lauren, I can’t wait to try these. I haven’t had a really good lemon cupcake for the longest time. There’s never enough lemon.

    2. Robin
      Reply

      I have this problem every time as well. This is my 3rd time making them as I keep forgetting the problem. I most definitely used baking powder every time and all fresh ingredients. I think that it should be more than a dozen but still they are flat, flat, flat! Sad that I have to remove this recipe from my Pinterest board because it looked so promising!

  26. Maggie Rose
    Reply

    Is it possible to double this to create a two layer cake? Or perhaps increase by 50%? I’d love to make this recipe as a birthday cake for my husband, and would very much appreciate some guidance!

    1. Lauren
      Reply

      Yes! It should be fine to make this in two 8 or 9 inch rounds. It may not take as long to bake, so watch it closely! Other then that, you should be good to go!

  30. Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca)
    Reply

    These sound so summery! Very refreshing (especially when people are starting to post all their pumpkiny recipes) 🙂

  33. Lynne @ 365 Days of Baking
    Reply

    Lauren, thanks for commenting on my site!
    Your pictures are amazing and I’m a lemon freak, too. I want one of those cupcakes, NOW!

  37. carly {carlyklock}
    Reply

    I love lemon, too! I remember when I was a kid I would cut a lemon in half and dip it in sugar and suck on it. Homemade lemon candy! Ha! 🙂

  39. aarthi
    Reply

    First time here…I am glad that I reached here…Straight away bookmarking your blog.
    I love lemon in anything..this is truly a hit recipe…Thanks for the recipe dear…
    If you have time do check out my blog..
    http://yummytummy-aarthi.blogspot.com/

    Aarthi

  41. Jordyn
    Reply

    I, too, love all things lemon and will choose a lemon dessert over anything else! My mouth was watering as I read the recipe; cannot wait to make these!

  46. Rachel @ the Avid Appetite
    Reply

    I’m only recently a lemon dessert convert. I would happily go all lemon for one of these cupcakes! They are gorgeous 🙂

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