Simple Lemon Cupcakes

When you are lucky enough to have a home supply of lemons like we do, lemon desserts are almost mandatory. Light and fluffy with just the right amount of zing, these simple lemon cupcakes were a treat to make. It was tough keeping my daughter’s hands off them but I did manage to enjoy a couple myself.

We have a fruit exchange with our neighbors. We have a grapefruit tree and they have a lemon tree. We trade fruit across the wall and everyone’s a winner. I’m obviously not drinking enough gin and tonic because I ended up with a surplus of lemon this Spring. Time to get baking…

Handle the Heat’s April Baking Challenge

I must confess, this recipe is not my genius. I came across the original recipe from Tessa Arias via Instagram. I follow her beautiful account at Handle the Heat, and this month (April 2019), she is running a baking competition to win a KitchenAid Stand Mixer… all you have to do is bake the winning cupcake and share a photo. Get involved in the competition here -> @handletheheat.

Working with Gluten Free Flour

Some recipes take well to gluten-free flour and others not so much. After the success of my Victoria Sponge Cake, I decided to make these with gluten-free flour because my twin boys are intolerant. The advantage of not baking gluten-free is of course that I get to eat more myself. By hey, everyone loves cupcakes.

They still rose and had great flavor, despite using gluten-free flour. The lemon juice actually masked any change of flavor you may notice with a simple sponge.

Simple Lemon Cupcakes Ingredients

Head over to Handle the Heat for the full recipe and instructions. I will leave my ingredients list here because I personally tend to back in small batches. Tessa’s recipe makes 15 cupcakes but I halved the recipe (with the odd tweak) and made 8 simple lemon cupcakes.

For the Lemon Sponge:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tbs lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup  granulated sugar
• 1/2 lightly beaten egg (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tbs fresh lemon juice

For the Frosting:

I made a full batch of cream cheese frosting (instead of half quantity) because I often find I don’t make enough. There was some left but it depends how tall you like to frost your cupcake!

• 8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 tbs lemon zest
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tbs lemon juice

Find Tessa’s full instructions here: Lemon Cupcakes from Handle the Heat.

I love this recipe and will be making again soon. The lemon zest in top is pretty and give a little more kick to the lemon flavor. My daughter however was a bit freaked out and chose to meticulously remove hers before devouring. Whether you get or not, these simple lemon cupcakes are delicious!