These Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes are the ultimate lemony treat. Moist lemon sponge topped with lemon drizzle syrup and lemon buttercream and finished with a drizzle of lemon curd. Lemon heaven!
Now, there’s a lot of lemon going on in this Lemon Drizzle Cupcake Recipe.
It might sound a little overwhelming, especially if you aren’t that keen on a very strong lemon flavour.
But this Recipe for Lemon Cupcakes is super versatile. You can reduce the amount of lemon juice in the lemon sponge, or miss out on the zest for a lighter flavour.
You could skip the syrupy lemon drizzle and just top it with buttercream. Or, you could keep the drizzle but skip the frosting. You can miss the lemon curd out too.
So, I’ve used four layers of lemon, but you can swap, change and skip, as well as reduce the lemon juice and zest, depending on how much lemon you really want.
Another option is to top your lemon drizzle cupcakes with plain buttercream. There’s a lot of flexibility to Lemon drizzle cupcakes.
For me though, it’s always four layers of delicious, sweet lemon flavour. I love lemon drizzle cakes, and these smaller treats are gorgeous. Soft, sweet, and a little tangy all topped with velvety lemon buttercream.
Ingredients for This Lemon drizzle cupcakes Recipe
When I make this easy cupcake recipe I use:
Margarine – for the cakes, you can swap for unsalted butter
Caster Sugar
Eggs
Lemons
Self-Raising Flour
Unsalted Butter – for the lemon buttercream, don’t swap for margarine
Lemon Curd
How do You Make Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes?
This super simple Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe is pretty much the same as all of my other sponge cakes, with added lemon.
You can get full instructions on How to Make Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, as well as plenty of tips, and the answer to some common questions if you keep reading below.
Can You Make Lemon Drizzle Cake with Lemon Extract?
Yes, you can make Lemon cupcakes without zest, instead of adding a teaspoon of lemon extract.
I prefer to use fresh lemons, but Lemon cupcakes without fresh lemons taste great. Lemon extract is quite a strong flavour so I’d start with 1 teaspoon, and maybe taste the mixture to see what you think before adding more.
I’d then reduce the flour by 20g so that it’s the same quantity as the butter and sugar.
You can also use lemon extract for the drizzle syrup and the buttercream, again starting with 1 teaspoon.
Can I Use a Cupcake Recipe for a Full-Size Cake?
Yes. I quite often use the same recipe for cupcakes, loaf cakes and sandwich cakes. For this one, I’d increase the quantities by 1/3 for a bigger cake, and bake for longer.
I do however have a recipe for a lemon drizzle loaf cake, which would be better.
How Do You Make Lemon Drizzle Syrup?
The Lemon drizzle syrup is one of the best parts of a lemon drizzle cake.
To make my sticky lemon drizzle syrup I warm around 50ml of lemon juice (about 1 lemon worth) with 50g of caster sugar, until the sugar has dissolved, stirring frequently so that it doesn’t catch to the bottom of the pan.
It will still be very runny, but don’t be tempted to add more sugar, as this will lead to the syrup drying into a rock-hard layer on the top of your cake.
Then I stab the cakes a couple of times with a skewer and spoon on the syrup while they are still warm.
How to Decorate Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes
I decorate my lemon drizzle mini cakes with first lemon buttercream, and then lemon curd. All the lemon!
How Do You Make Lemon Buttercream?
Lemon buttercream icing is the perfect top for a lemon drizzle cupcake. If you prefer you can leave it off, but honestly, the buttercream is pretty much always my favourite bit!
I add juice and lemon zest to my buttercream, but you can make Lemon buttercream without zest, either just using juice, or adding lemon extract instead of using fresh lemons.
Another option for your easy Lemon drizzle cupcakes with frosting is cream cheese. A basic cream cheese frosting, either with or without lemon. Lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting would be yummy.
You can find my lemon cream cheese recipe with my lemon traybake post.
Will Lemon Juice Curdle Buttercream?
As long as you use butter, and not margarine, your lemon buttercream shouldn’t curdle.
If your lemon buttercream curdles slightly or is still too thin after following this recipe, you might want to add a little cornflour, but I wouldn’t add more as this will give you quite a chalky aftertaste.
Another option is to let it rest in the fridge or add more icing sugar.
How to Stop Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes from Sinking
If your cupcakes are sinking in the middle, there are a few possible causes.
- You opened the oven door for a quick look. Confession, I am terrible for this! Especially with my Yorkshire puddings. Every time you open the door, the temperature, and more importantly, the temperature distribution changes. Keep the door shut until you are pretty confident your cakes are cooked.
- You’ve overmixed. It’s tempting to whisk for longer, to add more air, and to create light, fluffy cupcakes. But, the air has to go somewhere. It escapes during the bake, leads to a fast rise, and then falls off your cupcake. I use an electric whisk and don’t mix for more than a few minutes. When it’s even and the lumps are gone, stop. This is also why I use room temperature butter – it’s easier to mix in without any big cold lumps.
- The oven temperate is too high. Firstly, get to know your oven. I set mine for 170 degrees. But, all ovens are different. How old it is, whether it’s fan assisted, how good your seal is, all make a difference, and 170 in my oven might be 150 in yours. If your oven is too hot, the outside of your cake will cook first, forcing the middle up. This can lead to a very domed cake, but it can also mean that the middle sinks when it starts to cool down.
- Your cakes aren’t cooked. I use the good old skewer test to see if my cakes are ready. If it comes out clean, they are done. If not, pop them back in for a minute or two.
Why Are My Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes Soggy?
Another problem is a soggy cake. Again, the main cause might be that it’s not quite cooked and just needs a few extra minutes in the oven. You might have also added too much liquid or not enough flour.
Decorating Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes
To decorate my lemon drizzle cupcakes, I carefully melt a little lemon curd in a small pan, just so that it’s nice and runny. I spoon it into a piping bag and leave it to cool slightly before piping it roughly onto the buttercream.
You can drizzle over with a spoon too or miss this step altogether, but I love lemon drizzle cupcakes with lemon curd on top!
Anything with lemon curd on top if I’m being honest.
What You Need to Make this Lemon Sponge Cupcake Recipe
You don’t need anything fancy to make these lemon drizzle buns. Just your usually cupcake baking equipment.
I use:
- A muffin tray
- Cupcake cases or reusable silicone muffin cases
- A large mixing bowl
- Electric whisk
- Skewer or fork to stab
- Small saucepan
Can You Freeze Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes?
You can freeze lemon cupcakes, but personally, I’d do it before adding the buttercream. They are easier to store, and buttercream can go a bit gritty when it thaws.
To freeze, first, make sure your lemon drizzle cupcakes are cool, then, stack with a piece of baking paper between them, or individually wrapped, to stop them from sticking together, before placing them in a sealed, airtight tub.
Thaw slowly in the fridge when you are ready for them, and decorate if desired.
Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Lemon Cupcakes:
- 120 g Caster Sugar
- 120 g Butter or Margarine (at room temperature)
- 2 Eggs
- Zest and Juice 1 Lemon
- 140 g Self Raising Flour
For the Lemon Drizzle Syrup:
- 50 ml Lemon Juice (Or from 1 lemon)
- 50 g Caster Sugar (Or equal to the quantity of your lemon juice if more/less)
For the Buttercream:
- 150 g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
- 150 g Icing Sugar
- Zest and Juice 1/2 a Lemon
- 50 g Lemon Curd (Optional)
Instructions
For the Lemon Cupcakes:
- Line a muffin tin with cake cases and preheat the oven to 170 degrees (fan-assisted).
- Mix the butter and sugar until smooth.
- Add the eggs one at a time and whisk.
- Whisk in the lemon juice and zest.
- Sift in the flour and whisk until the mixture is smooth and even.
- Add a dollop of mixture to each cake case, until they are between half and 2/3rds full.
- Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
- Stab warm cakes a few times with a skewer and leave in the tin.
For the Drizzle:
- Carefully mix the caster sugar and lemon juice in a small pan.
- Warm over a medium heat, stirring constantly for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved, try not to let it simmer.
- Spoon a tablespoon onto each still warm cupcake.
- Remove from the tin and leave to cool completely.
For the Buttercream:
- Beat the butter until soft.
- Add the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
- Mix in the lemon juice and zest adding icing sugar if it’s too runny, or a splash of milk if it’s too stiff.
- Use a piping bag or spoon to add to the top of your cupcakes.
- Slowly melt the lemon curd in a small pan, or in short bursts in the microwave, until it is thin enough to drizzle.
- Leave to cool for a few minutes.
- Use a spoon to drizzle, or pipe over your buttercream to finish.
Notes
- Use half lemons if yours are very big.
- Butter is much better for buttercream than margarine. If you are using margarine, you’ll need a lot more icing sugar, and maybe a tbsp of cornflour to thicken the mixture without it becoming too sweet.
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
