Fluffy Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes
These Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes are light, fluffy, and have the perfect balance of sweet and tart! Topped with a homemade strawberry buttercream frosting, these treats are great for a spring or summer BBQ, potluck, or picnic!
These fluffy strawberry lemon cupcakes are like strawberry lemonade in cupcake form!
The base of the cupcake is made with lemon extract and fresh lemon juice for a flavor that is not too sweet and not too tart but has a great lemonade taste. Just like my lemon blueberry cupcakes, the texture is fluffy and light, perfect for summer!
The best part of these cupcakes has to be the frosting! The homemade strawberry buttercream frosting is made with strawberry jam and confectioners sugar making the perfect topping that rounds out the deliciousness of the cupcake.
As a trained pastry chef, I am used to playing with lots of flavors- but something about lemon has me always coming back for more. Like this 5 star rated Lemon Pudding Bundt cake, and these lemon curd cookies which have me *swooning*.
You can also skip the strawberry and make these ultra delicious lemon cupcakes!
Top these bright and flavorful cupcakes with strawberry buttercream or go for a strawberry cream cheese frosting that is perfect for summer!
Ingredients you need
Ingredient substitutes
Cake flour: If you dont have cake flour you can substitute it with all purpose but just know that the cupcake wont be as fluffy. You can make your own cake flour too! For every cup of flour, remove 2 tablespoons and replace with two tablespoons corn starch. Mix well and you have cake flour!
Buttermilk: If you can’t find buttermilk at the store, no worries! You can easily make your own using a few easy steps.
Simply fill the measuring cup with ½ cup of regular milk and take out 1 teaspoon. Replace it with lemon juice or vinegar. Let it sit for 10 minutes and voila! You’ve got homemade buttermilk.
How to make the cupcakes
Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside while making the cupcake batter.
Whisk the dry ingredients: Add the cake flour, leavening agents, and salt into a medium-sized bowl and whisk until fully combined.
Make the Strawberry Buttercream
To make the frosting you’ll need to use your mixing bowl again so go ahead and wash it out if you have to.
- Add the butter and sugar and mix on low to medium to combine
- Add the strawberry jam and cream with the mixer on low. Check the consistency- if its too thick, add more cream, 1 tbsp at a time. If its too thin, add more powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time.
- Frost the cupcakes!
Recipe Tips
- When mixing the wet and dry ingredients, its VERY important to not overmix. Overmixing will result in tough cupcakes that won’t be fluffy.
- Be careful not to overfill your cupcake liners! These cupcakes don’t rise a ton, so filling them too high will result in spillage over the sides while baking.
- Start with room temperature ingredients. This will help everything mix together more easily and prevent any clumps in the batter. If you forgot to take out your butter, learn how to soften butter quickly.
- Before frosting, make sure the cupcakes are completely cooled. Otherwise, your frosting will melt right off!
Decorating Cupcakes
I like using a large star tip and piping bags to frost and decorate my cupcakes. Add a garnish of a sliced strawberry and lemon and you are set!
Fluffy Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup cake flour, (207g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, (113g) softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar, (200g)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp lemon extract
- 1 egg, (50g)
- 2 egg white, (70g)
- ½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature (118mL)
Strawberry Buttercream
- 1 cup butter unsalted, at room temperature (227 g)
- 3 cups confectioners sugar, 340g
- ⅓ cup strawberry jam, 105g
- 1 tsp cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a medium size bowl combine the 1 ¾ cup cake flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda, and ¼ tsp kosher salt. Whisk until combined and set aside.
- In the bowl of a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the ½ cup butter for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl and add 1 cup sugar.
- Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the lemon zest, 2 tsp lemon juice and ½ tsp lemon extract. Mix again for 10 seconds.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the egg, 2 egg whites. Mix for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Add in 1/3rd of the dry ingredients, then half of the buttermilk and alternate, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Mix only until combined. Do not overmix.
- Using a 3 tbsp cookie scoop, scoop the batter into the muffin liners ¾ of the way full. Bake for 21-22 minutes or until the cake is set.
Make The Strawberry Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add 1 cup softened butter, and 3 cups confectioners sugar. Cream on low building up to high when the butter has incorporated most of the sugar so it doesn’t spill out of the mixer.
- Mix on high for 1-2 minutes
- Next add in the 1/3rd cup strawberry jam and mix on medium for 1 minute. Add the cream and mix again for 10 seconds.
- Frost the cupcakes using an offset spatula or piping bag and tips.
