Both lemon juice and lemon zest give extra zing to these little lemony cupcakes. We prefer to use natural flavourings wherever possible but you can substitute the lemon juice and zest for 2 tsp of lemon extract if you prefer.
Best Ever Lemon Cupcake Recipe
This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.
Before starting to bake, remove the eggs and butter from the fridge and allow them to warm to room temperature.
Ingredients
150g self-raising flour
150g caster sugar
150g unsalted butter
2 medium eggs
The zest and juice of 1 lemon
Equipment
12-cup cake tin
Paper cupcake cases
Large mixing bowl (preferably with a non-slip base, or place a mixing bowl on top of a damp teatowel to keep the bowl in place)
Electric beaters or wooden spoon
Sieve
2 tablespoons or an ice-cream scoop
Cake tester or metal skewer
Cooling rack
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 180c and weigh out all ingredients
- Line the cake tin with paper cake cases
- In the mixing bowl, use your wooden spoon or electric beater to cream together the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy
- Beat in the eggs one at a time
- Gently stir in the lemon juice and zest
- Sift in the self-raising flour and gently stir until just combined
- Add spoonfuls (or scoopfuls) of cake batter into the prepared cupcake cases, to around 2/3rds full
Top Tip:
When the lemon cupcakes are cool, make a few holes in them with a skewer and top with a little lemon and sugar syrup to create mini lemon drizzle cakes.
- Place the cake tin in the centre of the pre-heated oven and bake for 10 minutes
- Turn the tray around and bake for a further 3 – 5 minutes – remember to shut the oven door gently to stop your cakes from sinking!
- Remove your cakes from the oven and use a cake tester or skewer to ensure the cakes are baked in the middle
- A clean skewer means the cake is baked fully in the middle. If cake batter is still stuck to the skewer or the mixture looks wet, return the cakes to the oven for a further 2-3 minutes until cooked through
- Leave the cakes in the tin for a few minutes to cool down before removing and placing them on a wire cooling rack to cool completely
- Eat and enjoy!
Love this recipe? Let us know in the comments! If you missed parts 1 and 2 of our cupcake recipe series remember to check out our best ever vanilla cupcake recipe and our best ever chocolate cupcake recipe too.
