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    Home » Cakes » Cupcakes

    Lemon Cupcakes & Lemon Cream Frosting

    By Elizabeth Waterson // Jun 25, 2014 (Updated Aug 15, 2022) // Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe·Leave a Review
    This post may contain affiliate links, which may pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting Confessions of a Baking Queen!

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    Lemon Cupcakes & Lemon Cream Frosting unwrapped and on a white and blue cake plate
    Lemon Cupcakes & Lemon Cream Frosting unwrapped and a bite missing from the cupcake on a white background

    Lemon Cupcakes & Lemon Cream Frosting make a delightful summer cake. Easy Lemon Cake mix is topped with a light lemony cream cheese frosting finished with fresh berries.  Lately I have been on to the whole lemon kick more than my normal chocolate kick. In fact it's been quite a while. Something about lemon it is just so refreshing. Lemon frosting are my favorite. This frosting is a cream cheese whipped cream infused with fresh lemon zest & juice. It is DIVINE. As in I want to use it as my only frosting ever. I absolutely hate store-bought cake frosting. You know those cakes/cupcakes you get from the grocery store with that nasty over the top sweet, fake tasting frosting? UGH I hate it. 

    Well the day before I made these someone bought a cake and I felt obliged to at least take a bite even though I knew it would be dreadful. Needless to say, I couldn't get that awful taste out of my mouth so I HAD to make my own frosting to cancel it out.

    a bunch of Lemon Cream Cupcakes on a white wood surface

    It's kind of like my constant battle between sweet and salty, I get home from work have some cheese and crackers overdo it a bit so I need a slice of chocolate but then I overdo it on the chocolate so I need the cheese again... it is a vicious cycle. And by vicious, I mean the tastiest best cycle ever!

    You could totally make from scratch lemon cupcakes but I felt lazy and used a box and I am so glad I did. The cupcakes were super lemony and that lemon frosting...wow!

    ★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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    Lemon Cupcakes & Lemon Cream Frosting unwrapped and on a white and blue cake plate

    Lemon Cupcakes w/ Lemon Cream Frosting

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    Lemon Cupcakes & Lemon Cream Frosting make a delightful summer cake. Easy Lemon Cake mix is topped with a light lemony cream cheese frosting finished with fresh berries.

    • Total Time: 48 minutes
    • Yield: 28 Cupcakes 1x

    Ingredients

    Units Scale

    Lemon Cupcakes

    • 1 box Lemon Cake Mix
    • 1 small box Lemon Pudding Mix
    • ½ cup lemon juice
    • ½ cup oil
    • 1 cup sour cream/ greek yogurt
    • 3 large eggs, at room temperature

    Lemon Cream Frosting

    • 16oz Cream Cheese, at room temp.
    • 1 scant cup powdered sugar
    • 3 tbsp lemon juice, fresh squeezed
    • 1 tsp lemon zest
    • 3 cups heavy whipping cream

    Instructions

    Lemon Cupcakes

    1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake tin with liners, set aside.
    2. In a large bowl/bowl of electric mixer combine cake mix, pudding mix, lemon juice, oil, sour cream and eggs until no lumps or flour streaks remain.
    3. Fill liners ⅔ full with batter and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes then place cupcakes on wire rack to cool completely.

    Lemon Frosting

    1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment beat cream cheese for two minutes. Add in powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix until fully combined. With mixer on slowly whisk in heavy whipping cream mix until nice and fluffy. Pipe on to cupcakes and garnish with fresh berries. Store in fridge.

    Equipment

    cupcake pan

    Cupcake Pan

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    kitchen aid cordless hand mixer

    Cordless Hand Mixer

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    oxo food scale

    OXO Kitchen Scale

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    • Author: Confessions of a Baking Queen
    • Prep Time: 30 minutes
    • Cook Time: 18 minutes
    • Category: Dessert
    • Method: Baking
    • Cuisine: American

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @confessionsofabakingqueen on Instagram and hashtag it #cbqbakes

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    If you love this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating ⭐ when you post a comment. Star ratings help people discover my recipes online. I am incredibly grateful for your support! —xx Liz

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    elizabeth mixing frosting

    Hiya! I am Elizabeth Waterson, welcome to my treat-filled site. After spending 15 years in the restaurant industry and growing up baking, I wanted to share my love of baking with you all. My step-by-step tutorials will help you learn how to bake at home. Confessions of a Baking Queen (CBQ) has been featured in CBS LA, HuffPost Taste, BuzzFeed, Taste of Home, and more! Here you will find loads of sweet recipes with a few savory ones for good measure. Feel free to message me with any questions! Happy Baking! 

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