Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Curd

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Curd – Triple Lemon Cupcakes

Everyone loves a good cupcake and lemon cupcakes especially always seem to go down a treat! These cupcakes are a lemony twist on my classic vanilla cupcake recipe using three different ways to get the lemon flavour into these amazing little lemon cupcakes!

Easy, Peasy, Lemon Cupcakes!

These lemon cupcakes are extremely easy to make! All the ingredients for the cupcakes are mixed together in a bowl at the same time (all-in-one method) before spooning the mixture into the cupcake cases. After a short bake, the cupcakes are ready and you can make the lemon buttercream icing whilst you are waiting for the cupcakes to cool! Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy!

These cupcakes are very lemony as you use three different ways to incorporate the flavour into these little cakes! Of course, no lemon cake is complete without a little lemon juice and zest. In addition to that, this recipe also uses a little Sicilian lemon extract and a few tablespoons of lemon curd to really intensify the lemon flavour! You can use shop-bought lemon curd, or try out my recipe for homemade lemon curd! For a less intense lemon flavour, you can always omit the lemon extract or curd in this recipe.

For a dairy-free option, use dairy-free or vegan butter in this recipe and replace the milk with a lactose-free or plant-based version of your choice!

How To Make The Perfect Cupcake

Cupcakes may seem easy to make, but it can actually be quite tricky to create the perfect cupcake! With a few simple tips and tricks though, you´ll be able to create perfect little lemon cupcakes! Make sure to check out my Baking Skills and Techniques post on How To Create The Perfect Cupcake here.

To finish, these lemon cupcakes are topped with lemon buttercream icing. To find out how to make buttercream icing, check out this baking basics post here. You can also find out there how to make the buttercream dairy-free or vegan!

More (Lemon) Cake Recipes

Recipe

Ingredients:

FOR THE LEMON CUPCAKES

175g butter, softened
175g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
175g caster sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp lemon extract
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp lemon curd (shop-bought or homemade)

FOR THE LEMON BUTTERCREAM

175g butter, at room temperature
1 tsp lemon extract
350g icing sugar, sifted
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp milk (if needed)
Sprinkles or candied lemon peel, to decorate (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190°C and place 12 paper muffin cases into a 12-hole muffin tin.
To make the cupcakes, place all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Use an electric whisk (or a wooden spoon) to beat together the ingredients to form a thick, smooth batter. If you like, you can taste the mix to see if you may need to add a little more lemon juice to reach the right amount of “lemony-ness” for you.
Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 cases. If you want to be really accurate, you can weigh the mixture that goes into each case or use an ice cream scoop to get roughly the same amount of mixture into each cupcake case. Check out more tips for making the perfect cupcake here.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until well-risen, golden brown, and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes. Then remove them from the tin and leave the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool completely.
Whilst the cupcakes are cooling, you can start preparing the lemon buttercream icing (more tips on making buttercream here). In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter using an electric whisk for 3-5 minutes until pale, light and fluffy. Next, pour in the lemon extract and lemon juice. Add about half the icing sugar to the bowl and mix, then add the second half and beat until fully incorporated.
Test the consistency of the buttercream. It shouldn´t be too thin (if so, add more icing sugar) and also not too thick so that you cannot pipe it. If it´s too thick, add in a tablespoon of milk at a time and mix in between each addition until the icing reaches the right consistency.
Fill the lemon buttercream icing into a large piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes in swirls, and if you like, you can decorate the tops with sprinkles or candied lemon peel. You could also drizzle the cupcakes with a little extra lemon curd to finish (I put some in a piping bag, snipped off a small corner at the end and piped the curd on top!).
Chill the cupcakes in the fridge a little to let the icing firm up a little before serving. Enjoy!