A soft cupcake jam packed with lemon flavor and topped with a blackberry buttercream frosting. These lemon cupcakes aren’t too sweet and makes a great dessert for children and adults.
I don’t know how many cupcakes I have made in the last 15 years but there have been some distinct favorites from my friends. These lemon cupcakes are one of them. While I normally make it with a lemon buttercream there were these blackberries that just looked like they wanted to be added to some buttercream frosting.
Lemon cupcakes with a kick
One of the reasons this recipe is a bit different is that it uses buttermilk and lemon juice as liquid ingredients. With the addition of zest from at least 2 lemons depending on the size you will get a cupcake packed with lemon flavor.
Because lemon juice and buttermilk are both acidic the leavening ingredients will start reacting immediately. This is something to keep in mind when filling the cupcakes. You will want to make sure you have enough cupcake pans to bake all of them at once. Otherwise, the second batch will not rise since the leavening agents have been essentially used up.
While lemon juice does provide some lemon flavor the best way to get lemon flavor is to use lemon zest. The best lemons to use are those where their outer skin is still shiny an smooth. The reason for this is due to the oils in the yellow part of the skin. The older the lemon is the less oil the skin contains and therefore there will be much less of that lemon flavor.
One of the tips for making sure that all of the cupcakes are the same size is by using a cookie dough scoop. I use the 3 tablespoon scoop for cupcakes. The other thing you will want to watch out for if you are not using a cookie scoop is to make sure that the cupcake cups are filled no more than half full. This will help prevent the batter from spilling over,
Lemon Cupcakes with Blackberry Frosting
Equipment
- 2 Cupcake tins
- Sauce pan
- Piping bag with tip
- Fine mesh sieve
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes
- 2 cup all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 tbsp lemon zest about 2 lemons
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¾ cup butter unsalted, softened
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup lemon juice
For the Buttercream:
- 1 cup butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1½ cup fresh blackberries
Instructions
Making the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350F or gas mark 4 and place cupcake liners in the cupcake tin.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and then sift into a large bowl and set aside.
- On medium high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light. Then add the lemon zest and eggs.
- Reduce the speed to low and add half of the flour mixture, mix until just incorporated, then add the buttermilk and lemon juice mixing until just combined, and follow up with the remaining flour mixture.
- Fill cupcake papers about 2/3 the way up. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the springy to the touch.
Making the Blackberry Buttercream:
- Ina saucepan heat the blackberries and lemon juice until the blackberries release their liquid and comes to a boil. Strain with a fine mesh sieve and allow to cool.
- Cream the butter and salt for a few minutes then sift in the powdered sugar in a few batches, mixing in between. Add the cooled blackberry liquid and mix until combined. Scrape down and to a piping bag and decorate the cooled cupcakes.
This is a pretty cupcake. Definitely, a perfect dessert to make on Easter for everyone.
This is such a great-looking cupcake. Looks so delicious and very tasty! I love everything about this cupcake, especially the blackberry topping! Thanks for sharing this with us!
I love the coloring of the frosting. These would be great to make for Easter or a spring party! Thanks for the recipe share!
These look so delicious! I don’t think I have ever had a lemon cupcake with blackberry frosting The two sound like the perfect taste pair!
These cupcakes look superb and with summer flavours, my kids will love these over the weekend 🙂
The cupcakes look so good, and the color of the frosting too. loved this simple recipe, definitely a must-try.