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Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling
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Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling

Fluffy lemon cupcakes with lemon zest, filled with lemon curd and topped with a zesty lemon buttercream. Lemon cupcake heaven!
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Keyword Cupcake
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 541kcal
Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the sponge

  • 175 g Baking spread unsalted, softened
  • 175 g Caster sugar
  • 3 Eggs large
  • 2 Lemons zested
  • 175 g Self raising flour

For the filling

  • 200 g Lemon curd good quality shop bought or homemade

For the buttercream

  • 200 g Butter unsalted, softened
  • 400 g Icing sugar
  • 2 tsp Lemon extract
  • 2-3 tbsp Milk

For decoration

  • Yellow 100s and 1000s optional
  • 12 Lemon jelly slices optional

Instructions

  • Pre-heat your oven to 140C Fan/160C/325F/Gas Mark 3, and line a cupcake tin with cupcake cases
  • For the cupcake sponge, mix together the baking spread and caster sugar, ideally using an electric hand mixer or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, for 5 minutes until smooth and fluffy
  • Add the eggs and mix them in well
  • Then gently whisk, or fold in, the self raising flour and lemon zest
  • Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases, and bake them for 25-30 minutes or until a thin skewer inserted in the centre of the cupcakes comes out clean. Put them on a rack to cool completely
  • Use a cupcake corer or a knife to make a hole in the middle of each cupcake
  • Fill the holes with lemon curd. You can do this using a spoon or put the lemon curd into a small piping bag, snip the end off and pipe it in
  • For the buttercream, mix the softened butter on it's own for a few minutes. Then add the icing sugar, lemon extract and milk, and mix until smooth. You can do this by hand, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer with paddle attachment will provide the best results. If the buttercream is too stiff, you can add a little more milk
  • Put the buttercream into a large piping bag fitted with a Wilton 2D nozzle, or other nozzle of your choice and pipe it onto the cupcakes, or spread it on with a spoon
  • Decorate with jelly lemon slices and yellow hundred and thousands, or any sprinkles of your choice
  • Store in an airtight container in a cool place and eat within 3 days

Video

Notes

  • Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
  • For the best flavour, make sure to use a good quality lemon extract* and not an essence.
  • I used a baking spread for the cupcakes and unsalted butter for the buttercream.
  • If you would like to make your own lemon curd for the cupcakes, check out my Homemade Lemon Curd recipe.
  • I used lemon jelly sweets* and yellow sprinkles to decorate these cupcakes. You could drizzle them with lemon curd, decorate with lemon zest, leave them plain, or get creative and decorate in another way.
  • Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
  • For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 541kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 313mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 1006IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 0.5mg