I am so excited to be adding this Lemon Cupcake Recipe to our collection of Mini-Dessert Recipes. Lemon cake is sometimes tricky to get right, and we have one killer recipe for you today.
We also have a huge list of cupcake recipes for you to check out as well!
It’s so easy to overdo it with the sweetness on a lemon cake, trying to overcompensate for the sour punch. What you really want is a gentle balance of sweet-sour that tingles your tastebuds and hits a delicate balance. It should pair perfectly with a coffee, tea, or party punch but you shouldn’t need to take a sip with every bite. Eating mini desserts can be so great!
Buttermilk is one of my favourite baking ingredients as it can really bring a bit of nuance and it reacts wonderfully with different flavours – in my Red Velvet Cupcake recipe it helps turn the cocoa red, and here it helps carry through the sour note of the lemon while also mellowing it out to be palatable.
To decorate, I wanted a generous “scoop” of thick lemon frosting and so that’s exactly what I did – I used an ice cream scoop and topped each cupcake with frosting before dipping them in multi-coloured sprinkles. I love this effect for a party cupcake, or you can alternatively try a cream cheese frosting or meringue topping. (I’ll be trying those next time.)
Confetti Lemon Cupcake Recipe
This Confetti Lemon Cupcake Recipe is so good!
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 2 lemons optional
- 2 teaspoons pure lemon extract or juice from 2 lemons
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- For the frosting:
- 4 cups icing sugar powdered sugar
- 1 cups unsalted butter
- 2-4 Tablespoons cream or milk
- 1 tsp pure lemon extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325F
Line a muffin tray with 12-16 muffin liners.
Beat together the vegetable oil, shortening, vanilla, and lemon extract until light and fluffy.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, incorporating fully between each addition.
Add optional lemon zest.
In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, incorporate fully, then half of the buttermilk. Repeat.
Fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk.
Bake for 18-22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
For the frosting:
Mix together the icing sugar, lemon zest, and butter until smooth.
Add in lemon zest and taste to adjust.
Add in optional milk to achieve your desired texture.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 753Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 99mgSodium: 394mgCarbohydrates: 102gFiber: 2gSugar: 76gProtein: 7g