Simple and Moist Lemon Cupcakes
If you’re looking for a delicious and easy summer dessert, look no further than these Simple and Moist Lemon Cupcakes. These cupcakes are tangy, sweet, and perfect for any summer occasion. The best part? They can easily be made in one bowl with minimal cleanup required!
Summer is the time for lemonade and of course, lemon cupcakes! This lemon cupcake recipe is easy to make and perfect for a summer party.
The base of the cupcakes are made with simple baking ingredients and are naturally flavored using freshly squeezed lemon juice and the zest of a lemon. Top the cupcakes with a homemade lemon buttercream frosting or even lemon cream cheese frosting and you’ve got a delicious summer dessert perfect for a potluck or bbq.
The best part about these cupcakes is that they are made all in one bowl using the reverse creaming method– I learned this game changing method in pastry school.
With reversed creaming, you combine all the sugar and dry ingredients first, then add the butter. Doing it this way instead of creaming the butter and sugar (like in lots of other recipes) cuts down on gluten development.
This is amazing for cupcakes because it makes them SUPER fluffy. After adding the butter you add in the wet ingredients and lastly the eggs.
If you’ve never tried this method before, please let me know how you like it in the comments below!
If you’re looking for more summer recipes try my strawberry lemon cupcakes, or these lemon shortbread cookies.
What you need
- I always like to use fresh lemon juice and zest for this recipe because it really gives the cupcakes a nice lemon flavor, but you could also use lemon extract if you’d prefer.
- To get the most lemon flavor out of your lemons, be sure to zest them before juicing. This will help release more of the lemon oils into your recipe.
How to make the cupcakes
Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. Set aside while preparing cupcake batter.
Cool and frost: Cool completely on a wire rack, then top with zesty lemon buttercream. Use a piping bag and a star tip to pipe the frosting. Grate extra lemon zest over the buttercream. Enjoy!
TIPS FOR RECIPE SUCCESS
- For best results, use a light-colored muffin tin. This helps evenly distribute the heat for more consistent baking.
- When measuring the flour, be sure not to pack it into the cup spoon flour into your cup and level it off instead.
- Make sure to only fill the cupcake liners ¾ of the way full. This allows the cupcakes to rise properly and prevents them from overflowing.
Decorating the cupcakes
I like to use a large star tip and piping bags to frost my cupcakes. Then you can garnish with some more lemon zest to make it look pretty!
One Bowl Classic Lemon Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar, (200g)
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour, (210g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp lemon zest, from 1 large lemon
- ½ cup butter, 113g softened
- 2 tbsp lemon juice, (freshly squeezed)
- ½ cup buttermilk, (118mL)
- 1 egg
- 2 egg whites
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In the bowl of a hand or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add the 1 cup sugar, 1 ¾ cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp kosher salt, ¼ tsp baking soda, and lemon zest.
- Mix on low speed until combined. Add in the butter and mix for 30 seconds to one minute until the mixture looks sandy.
- With the mixer on low speed add 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, and ½ cup buttermilk. Mix again for 30 seconds moving up from low to medium speed. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides.
- Add the egg and egg whites and mix on medium for 30 seconds.
- Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter evenly into the muffin cups and fill ¾ of the way full. Bake for 19 minutes.
- Cool and top with zesty lemon buttercream.
In the photograph of the ingredients, you have a bottle of lemon extract, but in the list of ingredients for the recipe there is no lemon extract. Do you actually use lemon extract? Please let me know because I would love to try your recipe.
You are so right, I have to fix that! Its not really a make or break thing, you can add in 1/2 tsp lemon extract or leave it out. It will make it more of a punchy flavor if you use it though.