Serious lemon fans will fall in love with these lemon curd cupcakes. It’s triple the lemon, with lemon cake, curd, and a lemon buttercream!
My skating bestie’s birthday was earlier in the month. Her birthday is right after the 4th of July holiday, and I am usually traveling. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been in town to celebrate with her (sorry, K!). However, I was home this year and was more than happy to join her family and friends.
I know that lemon is one of her favorite flavors (these whole lemon bars are one of her top dessert choices here on Eva Bakes), so I wanted to make something very lemony for her. It had to be bursting with lemon in every bite.
I settled on lemon curd cupcakes, which would be easily transportable to the bar where we gathered. I enhanced a lemon cupcake recipe and improved upon it by filling the middle with a homemade lemon curd. So these cupcakes were triple the lemon flavor – from the cupcake to the curd to the frosting. How’s that for a lemon-flavored dessert?
The birthday girl enjoyed her cupcakes, as did her family and friends. I saved a few cupcakes for my family (who did not attend the party) and my husband liked them as well. If you want these even more lemony, add lemon extract in the cupcake base. You can even top these with candied lemons also.
Enjoy!
Husband’s rating: 4 out of 5
Addie’s rating: N/A (she did not have any)
My rating: 4.5 out of 5
Lemon curd cupcakes
Ingredients
Lemon cupcakes
- 1 and ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons lemon zest from 2 lemons
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (1 and ½ sticks) unsalted butter melted
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream can substitute with plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup milk of choice I used 1%
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice I used the 2 lemons that I zested
Lemon curd
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice about 1 large lemon
- zest from one large lemon
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup (½ stick or 4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter room temperature
Lemon buttercream
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 16 Tablespoons) unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 and ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup freshly squeeze lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
Instructions
Make the lemon curd
- In a small saucepan, mix together the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and eggs.
- Add in the butter and turn the stove on low heat. Continuously whisk until the butter is melted.
- Turn the heat up to medium low and keep whisking until the curd starts to thicken and can coat the back of your spatula or spoon.
- Strain the curd through a fine mesh sieve (to get rid of any cooked egg pieces) and into a container. Set a piece of plastic wrap on top and place it in the refrigerator to cool, at least 1 hour.
- Remove the plastic wrap and replace it with a lid. Keep the curd in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Make the cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 375℉. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.
- In the bowl of food processor, add the sugar and the lemon zest. Pulse until the zest is evenly distributed and your sugar turns a light yellow color.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and the salt together. Mix gently with a spatula.
- In a separate medium or large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, lemon juice, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), and sugar together. If this mixture appears lumpy, microwave for about 30 seconds and mix well until the clumps disappear.
- Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until everything just comes together.
- Evenly distribute the batter into your prepared cupcake liners, filling each one about ¾ full.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 5 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 350℉ and bake for another 10-12 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean and the sides of the cupcakes should be set.
Make the buttercream
- In the bowl of a clean stand mixer or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium high until light and fluffy.
- Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar about half a cup at a time.
- Add the lemon extract and lemon juice and mix well. If your buttercream appears too runny, add more powdered sugar. If it's too stiff, you can add a splash of milk.
Assemble the cupcakes
- Cut a cone shape out of the middle of each cupcake (save the scraps for a chef's treat!).
- Fill each hole with a dollop of lemon curd - make sure it comes all the way to the top of the cupcake.
- Top each cupcake with the lemon frosting. You can use a piping tip to make it look fancy or just just a knife or offset spatula to do this.
- Serve and enjoy!