Lemon Cupcakes
Deliciously moist, light and fluffy lemon cupcakes. Topped with amazingly stabilized lemon buttercream frosting. Made of butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, icing sugar, semi-sweet white chocolate, heavy cream, and pure vanilla extract.
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 419kcal
Equipment
- 12-muffin pan
- electric hand mixer or stand mixer
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup whole milk room temperature
- 2 tbsp lemon zest or zest of two lemons
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Dry ingredients
- 1¼ cup cake flour 163 g
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
For the Meringue
- 2 egg whites room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
For the Lemon Syrup
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup salted or unsalted butter 226g, softened
- 2 ½ cups icing sugar sifted 300 g, or to taste
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp lemon zest or zest of two lemons
- 50 g white chocolate
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Yellow Icing colour optional
Instructions
How to make Lemon Cupcakes
- Prepare the wet ingredients. In a liquid measuring cup, add and measure melted butter, vegetable oil, milk, lemon zest and pure vanilla extract. Mix until blended. This will let the lemon zest infused and will not dry out while preparing other ingredients.
- For the egg yolk mixture. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks, granulated sugar and lemon juice until egg yolks are pale in colour and sugar is almost dissolved.
- Weigh, measure and sift the dry ingredients. Weigh the cake flour or spoon in a measuring cup and level it off with a spatula. Sift in a strainer over parchment paper with the baking powder and salt.
- Mixing the dry and wet ingredients. Add in egg yolks mixture in 4 additions alternately with the wet ingredients. Mix until blended.
- For the meringue. Whisk the egg whites gradually add sugar and whisk until medium-stiff peaks.
- Mixing the cake batter and meringue. Add the meringue to the cake batter in four additions. Cut and fold and avoid over mixing.
- Scoop the cake batter to portion evenly. Line the 12-muffin pan with muffin paper liner. Scoop and portion evenly about 3/4 full using an ice cream scoop with the trigger.
- Bake the cupcakes. Bake in preheated oven to 375°F for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let it cool in a pan for 10 minutes.
- For the lemon syrup. Mix the sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl and microwave for about 15 seconds or until sugar is dissolved. While the cupcakes are still hot in the muffin pan, brush the top of each cupcake with lemon syrup. Transfer on a cooling rack to cool completely.
How to Make Lemon Buttercream Frosting
- Melt the semi-sweet white chocolate chips in a small bowl over a bowl of hot water. Set aside and let it cool but not set.
- Meanwhile, whisk the softened butter in a medium-sized bowl until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl in between each addition. Add ½ cup of sifted icing sugar, whisk until blended then add the lemon zest. Add the remaining sifted icing sugar, ½ cup at a time alternately with the wet ingredients. Scrape the bowl in between each addition.
- Finally, add the cooled melted white chocolate, whisk until light and fluffy.
- Colour the lemon buttercream (optional). In a small bowl, add ⅓ of the buttercream frosting and then add a few drops of yellow icing colour. Mix until well blended.
- Frost the cupcakes. Transfer in the one-half side of a large piping bag with decorating tip, open star 1M. Add the white buttercream frosting to the other side of the piping bag. Top and decorate each cupcake.
Video
Notes
Adjust the amount of sugar to your preferred sweetness and consistency.
This buttercream frosting can frost the cupcakes about 3 inches high. To lower the calories per serving, make half of the amount of buttercream frosting.
