If you love cupcakes, be sure to try our Key Lime Cupcakes, Best Ever Moist Chocolate Cupcakes, Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes, Dulce de Leche Cupcakes, or S’mores Cupcakes next! Every bite of these lemon cupcakes conjures up images of Spring sunshine, warmer weather, and longer days! I love really light, tender lemon cupcakes made with real lemon juice and zest from fresh lemons, rather than lemon extract. The taste is sweet and pure, without the artificial lemony-ness of a box mix. The cake part of the cupcake is delicate and moist, with enough structure that it doesn’t fall apart if you decide to fill it with lemon curd, but enough flavor to stand on it’s own.
How to fill lemon cupcakes with lemon curd
I don’t always fill my lemon cupcakes with lemon curd since they are plenty delicious all on their own. But it’s a really fun and easy way to take your cupcakes to the next level. There are two main approaches to making filled cupcakes. Both are pretty quick and easy, and regardless of the approach you choose, you can hide the filling under a layer of frosting so no one will know about the lemon curd surprise until they bite into their cupcake.
Piping filling into the cupcakes
One quick and easy approach is to use a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip to pipe lemon curd (or custard, jam, nutella, buttercream or whatever filling you are using) right into the center of each cupcake. All you have to do is poke the piping tip right down into the center of each cupcake and squeeze 1-2 tablespoons of filling into the cupcake. The biggest drawback to this approach is that if you overfill the cupcakes they will burst. But for the most part this method works really well, especially if you are doing a lot of cupcakes at once.
Cutting a plug
The other I fill cupcakes is to use a small, sharp paring knife or apple corer to cut a plug out of the center of each cupcake. Then you can spoon 1-2 tablespoons of lemon curd or other filling into the hole and replace the plug on top. It’s okay if the plug sticks up a bit since it will be hidden underneath the frosting that you will pipe on top to cover it up. I find this is my preferred approach when I’m doing a small batch of cupcakes.
How to Make Lemon Cupcakes
What frosting should I use for lemon cupcakes?
I love using lemon buttercream frosting on lemon cupcakes, because the lemon juice and lemon zest paired with the powdered sugar makes a frosting that tastes just like lemon drops, which are one of my favorite candies. But there are lots of other frosting choices that would pair really well with these lemon cupcakes. A classic vanilla buttercream frosting is always a good choice since it goes with everything. But you can also use strawberry, raspberry, or blackberry buttercream frosting for a fruity and fun flavor combination. And cream cheese frosting is another choice that would be deliciously tangy and sweet with lemon cupcakes.
More lemon desserts you’ll love!
Lemon Macarons with Lemon Curd Lemon Sugar Cookies Passion Fruit Lemon Loaf Cake Lemon Icebox Cake Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake
Sour Cream Lemon Pie
Lemon Curd Macarons Recipe
Glazed Lemon Cookies
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
