Lemon Vanilla Cupcakes

These easy lemon vanilla cupcakes have a light and fluffy crumb with a bright punch of lemon flavor. Made from scratch and topped with creamy vanilla and lemon buttercream frosting!

this recipe

There's something so delightful about this bright, homemade lemon cupcake recipe. It's perfect for spring and summer holidays (like Easter or Mother's Day) with a tart, lemony flavor that cuts through the sweetness for a perfectly balanced bite.

Like our popular butterscotch cake, this recipe is an excellent choice when you want a dessert that feels fresh and elegant but will still satisfy a wide range of taste buds. We'll start with a basic vanilla and lemon cupcakes recipe, and top things off with a rich, creamy lemon frosting that's sure to be a hit.

A few notes on ingredients

This lemon cupcake recipe is pretty straightforward, but we want to highlight a few things before we dive in:

• Use high quality vanilla extract. You'll definitely taste the vanilla here, so use a brand you really like! (Nielsen Massey vanillas are a bit of an investment but are consistently our favorite in recipe testing, hands down).
• Bring the egg to room temperature. If you have time, let the egg sit on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour before you mix your batter. A warmer egg will melt into the batter more smoothly and give you a taller, more even cupcake crumb (see this difference in action in our Cupcake Baking Tips post!)
• Yes, you need the lemon extract. If this isn't something you typically stock in the pantry, don't worry - a small bottle will get you through a few batches of these cupcakes (and you can also use it in our lemon poppyseed scones!) You can use any brand here; they're all pretty similar (we typically use McCormick Lemon Extract).

How to make these cupcakes

Start by creaming softened butter together with some sugar, lemon extract, and vanilla extract. We like to use an electric mixer here; you can also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Spend a few full minutes on this step: You want everything to be completely incorporated (with no lingering chunks of butter!) into a fluffy, soft mixture.

Note: If you use a stand mixer to make your batter, be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl often!

Then, stir an egg and some milk into the batter, followed by your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and a bit of kosher salt). We recommend folding your dry ingredients in by hand with a spoon or spatula if you can: It reduces the risk of overmixing so your cupcakes are as light and fluffy as possible!

When the cupcake batter is ready, portion it out into cupcake liners in a cupcake pan. For best results, fill each liner about ⅔ of the way full. (We love using a large cookie scoop to portion cupcake batter: It ensures an even batter distribution between each cupcake liner, which helps the cupcakes bake more evenly).

Pop the cupcakes into a preheated oven and bake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. When the cupcakes are done, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before you make the frosting.

Four tips for perfect cupcakes

1. Use a cookie scoop to fill the cupcake liners. This ensures each liner has the same amount of batter, which helps the cupcakes cook more evenly. We like to use a large 3 Tablespoon cookie scoop to fill full-sized cupcake liners.
2. No peeking! Opening the oven door during baking can disturb the hot air distribution inside the oven and alter the final texture of the cupcakes. Resist the urge to peek until the cupcakes are almost done baking! (See this tip in action in our series about baking perfect cupcakes).
3. If you can, let the egg come to room temperature on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour before mixing your batter. This will help it melt more smoothly into the batter and give you a taller cupcake with a more even crumb.
4. Use a kitchen scale! Measuring ingredients by weight (using the gram measurements in the recipe below) will give you perfect-every-time measurements and much more consistent results.

PS - We've spent years testing every variable we can think of when it comes to baking. For our best tips, be sure to read through 10 tips to bake the perfect cupcake!

About this vanilla lemon buttercream

We're working with a light and fluffy buttercream frosting here, which doubles down on the flavor of our cupcakes thanks to a bit of lemon extract and vanilla extract.

Start by creaming softened butter together with the lemon and vanilla extracts until it's smooth and fluffy, then slowly beat in powdered sugar (plus a pinch of salt!) and a bit of heavy cream. We used an electric hand mixer here, but you can also do this in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk or paddle attachment.

Depending on your personal preferences (and the temperature and humidity of your kitchen, which have a big effect on frosting) you may need to add a bit more of either powdered sugar or heavy cream to bring this frosting to a perfect consistency. Add ingredients slowly, and don't be afraid to tweak it a little until it looks right!

When the buttercream is smooth and fluffy, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe it onto your cooled cupcakes. (You can also swirl the frosting on with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to save some time, just like we do for our pumpkin ale cupcakes and small batch chocolate cupcakes!)

Riffs and Substitutions

These cupcakes are easy to customize! A few of our favorite riffs:

• Use any frosting you like here. We love this creamy lemon buttercream, but these cupcakes are also good with a plain vanilla buttercream, cream cheese frosting, or a berry-infused frosting (like a raspberry frosting or strawberry buttercream!)
• Add a filling! Pipe a bit of homemade lemon curd into the center of each cupcake before frosting for an elegant twist.
• Dial the flavors up or down. These cupcakes have a lemon-forward flavor with deep vanilla undertones. If you'd like a lighter, less poignant lemon note, reduce the lemon extract here (you can even omit the lemon extract entirely if you'd like a plain vanilla cupcake!)
• Add your favorite toppings! Sprinkles, fresh berries, or lemon zest are all delicious on top of these cupcakes. (Check out our cupcake decorating guide for more of our favorite topping ideas!)

Lemon Vanilla Cupcakes

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Jessie
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cooling Time (Inactive): 1 hour
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
• Yield: 12-15 large cupcakes 1x
• Category: Cupcakes
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

These easy lemon vanilla cupcakes are topped with a fluffy lemon buttercream.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the cupcakes:

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (113 grams)
• 180 grams sugar (¾ cup)
• 10 grams vanilla extract (1 Tablespoon)
• 10 grams lemon extract (1 Tablespoon)
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 180 grams milk (¾ cup), at room temperature
• 240 grams flour (about 2 cups when measured by scooping and leveling)
• 3 grams kosher salt (1 teaspoon)
• 7 grams baking powder (1 ½ teaspoons)

For the frosting:

• 4 Tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (56 grams)
• ½ teaspoon lemon extract
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 365 grams powdered sugar (about 3 cups)
• 115 grams heavy cream (½ cup)
• Pinch of kosher salt

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Instructions

For the cupcakes:

1. Heat oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Line a cupcake tin with paper cupcake liners.
2. Use a hand mixer to cream butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon extract together in a large mixing bowl (you can also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Spend a few full minutes on this step: You want the mixture to be well incorporated (there should be no obvious chunks of butter), with a light and fluffy texture.
3. Beat egg and milk into batter until they're just combined.
4. Use a large spoon or spatula to gently fold flour, kosher salt, and baking powder into batter until everything is just combined. 
5. Divide batter into cupcake liners, filling each liner about ⅔ of the way full (we like to use a large cookie scoop for this). Bake at 325° F for 20-25 minutes until a cake tester inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
6. Remove cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool completely before you make the frosting.

For the frosting: 

1. Use a hand mixer to cream butter, lemon extract, and vanilla extract together in a large mixing bowl (you can also use a stand mixer).
2. Add powdered sugar and a pinch of salt, then stream in heavy cream a little at a time, beating well between each addition, until you have a smooth, stiff, fluffy frosting.
3. Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe onto cooled cupcakes (you can also spread the frosting over the cupcakes with a spoon or offset spatula).

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Notes

Please use a kitchen scale! Measuring ingredients - especially flour - by volume (with cups) is notoriously unreliable; for best results, use a kitchen scale to measure by weight and follow the gram measurements above. We use and recommend Escali scales. 

Equipment. We recommend using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to properly cream the butter in this recipe. If you don't have an electric mixer, you can use a whisk to beat all wet ingredients together by hand (this will take a few minutes and some elbow grease - you want to make sure everything is well incorporated, especially the butter!) We like to use a 3 Tablespoon cookie scoop to portion cupcake batter into liners before baking. Use a piping bag fitted with a large star tip to frost these cupcakes, or swirl the frosting onto each cupcake with a spoon.

Additions and Substitutions. Reduce the lemon and/or vanilla extracts in this recipe for less pronounced flavor. Add your favorite toppings (sprinkles, lemon zest, chopped nuts, etc). Use any frosting you like here: Plain vanilla buttercream, cream cheese frosting, and strawberry or raspberry buttercreams are all good. For more frosting and decorating suggestions, visit our all-about-frosting post or check out our favorite cupcake decorating ideas.

Storing cupcakes. Store cupcakes (frosted or unfrosted) in an airtight container on the counter for up to 4 days. Freeze cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 2 months. For more information, check out our post on storing and freezing cupcakes.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cupcake
• Calories: 398
• Sugar: 46 g
• Sodium: 115 mg
• Fat: 15.6 g
• Carbohydrates: 62.1 g
• Protein: 3.5 g
• Cholesterol: 57.1 mg

Keywords: cake, cupcakes, dessert