Lemon raspberry cupcakes are the perfect combination of sweet and tart. Fluffy lemon cupcakes studded with fresh raspberries and swirled with lemon buttercream frosting, topped with a lemon slice and fresh berries. This cupcake recipe makes for a great spring or summer dessert!
Ingredients for Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
Lemon raspberry cupcakes
- All-purpose flour: Regular all-purpose flour works perfectly.
- Granulated sugar: For sweetness.
- Baking powder: The leavening agent helps the cupcakes rise.
- Salt: Salt enhances the flavor of the cupcakes and creates contrast.
- Milk: Room temperature milk.
- Lemon juice: Fresh is best! You can use bottled in a pinch!
- Lemon zest: Lemon zest adds additional lemon flavor. I highly recommend it.
- Egg: Large, room temperature egg.
- Vegetable oil: Canola oil or a neutral oil works perfectly well also.
- Raspberries: Roughly chopped. Be sure to use fresh raspberries as opposed to frozen.
Lemon buttercream frosting
- Unsalted butter: Room temperature unsalted butter. You can use salted – just omit the additional salt.
- Powdered sugar: No need to sift the powdered sugar.
- Salt: To enhance the flavor of the buttercream.
- Heavy cream: Helps the buttercream become light and fluffy.
- Lemon juice: Again, you definitely want to go with freshly squeezed.
- Lemon zest: Add lemon zest for additional lemon flavor (optional).
Tools & Supplies for Making Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
How to Make Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
Lemon raspberry cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F & line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add in milk, egg, vegetable oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the flour mixture.
- Whisk the dry and wet ingredients together until combined and smooth. Do not overmix.
- Fold in roughly chopped raspberries until they are evenly dispersed.
- Portion into cupcake liners using a cookie scoop.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the cupcakes bounce back when gently touched.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Lemon buttercream frosting
To make the lemon buttercream frosting, I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer.
- Whip the butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and mix on low. Then add the remaining half and continue to mix on low speed.
- Add in the salt. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is well mixed.
- On low speed, slowly drizzle in the heavy cream followed by lemon juice. Add lemon zest if desired.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high and whip for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Switch to a paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 2-3 minutes to remove air bubbles for a smooth buttercream.
Assembling the cupcakes
Swirl on the lemon buttercream frosting with a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip. For a little flair, add a lemon slice and raspberries immediately after piping on the frosting. Gently pat the lemon slices to remove excess juice.
Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes Recipe Tips
Bake perfect cupcakes
Check out my baking tips blog post on 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cupcakes. In this post, I provide you with 10 easy tips and tricks to achieve perfect cupcakes every time!
Use fresh lemon juice and lemon zest
For great lemon flavor, be sure to use fresh lemon juice. Between the cupcake and buttercream, I typically use about 2 lemons (depending on the size). Before you juice your lemons, be sure to zest them using a fine grater or zester. Then you can extract the juice. I like using a fork to twist and squeeze out the juice. Check for seeds!
Wait to garnish until before serving
If you don’t plan on serving your cupcakes the same day you make them, I recommend waiting until right before serving to garnish with lemon slices and raspberries. If you garnish too far ahead of time, the fruits will dry out and shrivel up. Not a good look! Let the cupcakes come to room temperature to soften the buttercream before adding the fruit.
Storing and serving
Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Serve the cupcakes at room temperature for best taste and texture.
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Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
Equipment
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
Ingredients
Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup milk room temperature
- ¼ cup lemon juice fresh squeezed
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg room temperature
- zest of 1 lemon
- ½ cup fresh raspberries roughly chopped
Lemon Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice fresh squeezed
- zest of 1 lemon optional
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
Garnish
- lemon slices
- raspberries
Instructions
Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add in milk, lemon juice, egg, vegetable oil, and lemon zest. Whisk until the wet and dry ingredients are fully combined and the batter is smooth. Do not overmix the batter.
- Add in roughly chopped raspberries. Fold into the batter until evenly dispersed.
- Fill cupcake liners ¾ full. This recipe will make 12 cupcakes total. Due to the raspberries, the cupcake liners will appear very full.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back slightly when touched.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool completely.
Lemon Buttercream Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add in room temperature unsalted butter. Whip the butter for 5 minutes on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides occasionally. The butter will be light, fluffy, and pale in color.
- Add one half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed setting until fully combined. Add remaining powdered sugar and continue to mix on low until incorporated.
- Increase the speed to medium and add the salt and lemon zest. Slowly drizzle in lemon juice and heavy cream.
- Once the liquids are added, turn the speed on the mixer to medium and whip for an additional 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure the frosting is well mixed.
- If desired, switch to a paddle attachment on the stand mixer and mix buttercream on low speed for 2 additional minutes to remove air bubbles to create smooth frosting.
- Pipe the lemon buttercream frosting onto the cooled cupcakes with a piping bag and Wilton 1M piping tip (or your favorite piping tip). Decorate with slice lemon and fresh raspberries, if desired.
Notes
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