Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
Soft and moist lemon cupcakes are topped with a swirl of raspberry buttercream in this easy lemon raspberry cupcake recipe that’s perfect for spring or summer!
I first shared this lemon raspberry cupcake recipe nearly a decade ago (seriously can’t believe it’s been that long!). While the original recipe was delicious, I’ve learned a lot over the last 10 years and I knew there was room for improvement.
I took reader feedback into mind when creating this new and improved recipe and adjusted the ingredients in the lemon cupcakes to make them even softer and fluffier. Instead of using jam in the raspberry frosting (which resulted in a softer consistency), I swapped it out for freeze-dried berries for a thicker consistency and bolder raspberry flavor.
I truly can’t get over how delicious these lemon raspberry cupcakes turned out! They would be the perfect addition to any dessert table or a fun birthday treat for someone who loves lemon and raspberries. I hope you enjoy this new and improved version as much as I do!
Recipe Video
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Cake Flour
My original recipe called for all-purpose flour, but I decided to swap it with cake flour to make these cupcakes lighter and fluffier. My personal favorite brands to use are Pillsbury Softasilk and Swans Down. If you don’t have cake flour on hand, you can make your own cake flour using regular flour and some cornstarch.
Lemons
You’ll need 2 to 3 medium lemons to have enough juice and zest for the cupcakes. For an even stronger lemon flavor, you’re welcome to add extra lemon zest, but don’t add more lemon juice (the cupcakes won’t rise as well if you do!).
Freeze-Dried Raspberries
This is what gives the frosting such a strong raspberry flavor. If you want to use fresh or frozen berries in the frosting, you can follow the instructions in my raspberry frosting recipe. You can also swap the raspberries with freeze-dried strawberries to make a strawberry frosting.
Tips For Making These Cupcakes
- Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This will take several minutes, but don’t rush the creaming process because all that air in the butter is what makes the cupcakes so fluffy. I also recommend mixing the lemon zest with the butter and sugar! This releases more of the zest’s oil, giving the cupcakes a stronger lemon flavor.
- Use room temperature ingredients. This will ensure that everything mixes together more evenly and give you a smoother batter. If you forget to set your ingredients out on the counter, you can speed up the process by cutting the butter into smaller pieces, placing the eggs in warm tap water, and microwaving the buttermilk for 15 to 20 seconds.
- Avoid over mixing the dry ingredients. This is a surefire way to develop too much gluten, which translates to dense or rubbery cupcakes. You want to make sure to only mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Only fill the cupcake liners ⅔ of the way full. The batter will rise quite a bit as the cupcakes bake! If you add too much batter to the liners, they will overflow and sink in the middle.
- Sift the seeds out of the freeze-dried raspberry powder. Freeze-dried raspberries have a LOT of seeds in them. Sifting out the seeds will give you a silky smooth frosting and prevent all those tiny seeds from getting stuck between your teeth.
How To Fill & Decorate The Cupcakes
I used my raspberry buttercream and a Wilton 1M piping tip to frost these cupcakes. The freeze-dried raspberries give the frosting a gorgeous pink hue, so there’s really no need to add any food coloring. For an even prettier presentation, I also love to top the cupcakes with a small lemon wedge and a fresh raspberry.
If you’ve got a little extra time, you can use a cupcake corer or a small knife to hollow out the center of each cupcake and fill it with either lemon curd or raspberry cake filling. This step is optional, and you’d want to fill the cupcakes before frosting them!
Can I Use This Recipe To Make Mini Cupcakes?
Yes, you’re welcome to bake the batter in mini muffin pans to make mini cupcakes. You will need to reduce the baking time to 9 to 14 minutes.
Can I Make A Full-Size Cake?
Absolutely! This recipe yields enough batter for one 9-inch cake pan. For a layered cake, I recommend doubling the cake batter (or you can use my lemon cake recipe) and increasing the frosting by half.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cupcakes! If you try them, don’t forget to leave a comment below to let me know how they turned out. Happy Baking!
Lemon Raspberry Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes
- 1 ¾ cups cake flour spooned & leveled (195 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113 grams; 1 stick)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (10 grams)
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (45 ml)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk at room temperature (120 ml)
Raspberry Frosting
- 1 cup freeze-dried raspberries (1 ounce or 28 grams before removing the seeds)
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (226 grams; 2 sticks)
- 3 cups powdered sugar (360 grams)
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk (45 ml)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Optional Filling
Instructions
- To make the lemon cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two regular 12-count muffin pans (or one 24-count muffin pan) with 16 cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.1 ¾ cups cake flour,2 teaspoons baking powder,¼ teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar and lemon zest together until light in color and fluffy (about 3 minutes).½ cup unsalted butter,1 cup granulated sugar,2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
- Mix in the eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Then, mix in the lemon juice and vanilla extract until fully combined. The mixture may look curdled at this point, this is okay.2 large eggs,3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice,1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Mix in half of the dry ingredients until just combined, then mix in the buttermilk, followed by the last half of the dry ingredients. Make sure to only mix in each addition until just combined, you don’t want to over mix the batter! If needed, you can use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure that everything is thoroughly mixed together.½ cup buttermilk
- Distribute the batter evenly between all 16 cupcake liners, making sure to only fill each one about ⅔ of the way full.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightly touched.
- Remove from the oven, then carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the raspberry frosting: Add the freeze-dried raspberries to a blender or food processor and blend into a fine powder. Strain the powder through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the seeds. You should end up with a little under ⅓ cup or 16 grams of powder. Set aside.1 cup freeze-dried raspberries
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth.1 cup unsalted butter
- Mix in the powdered sugar on low speed, one cup at a time, making sure to mix well after each addition.3 cups powdered sugar
- Add the raspberry powder, heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix on low-medium speed until fully combined, making sure to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk,1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract,⅛ teaspoon salt
- To assemble the cupcakes: (Note: If you don’t plan on filling the cupcakes, you can skip this step). Using a sharp knife, cut a hole in the center of each cupcake and make a small tunnel. Make sure not to cut all the way to the bottom of the cupcake! You should end up with a cone shaped piece once you remove it. Spoon 2 to 3 teaspoons of raspberry cake filling or lemon curd into the center of each cupcake. Cut the top off of the piece you removed earlier and place it back on top of the filling.
- Add the raspberry frosting to a piping bag fitted with your preferred piping tip and pipe it on top of the cupcakes.
5 stars for raspberry frosting, 4 for the lemon cupcake recipe. I’ve tried several different raspberry frosting recipes and all of them were more complicated than this one but this is the absolute best recipe I’ve tried. I will look no further.
Lemon cake, too dense for my tastes and a little too sweet. It was difficult to fill the dense cupcakes with lemon curd and they just didn’t raise as tall as I’d like. But…they have an amazing flavor. I’ve tried other lemon cake recipes and can’t find one I like better. I’ve made these several times now and I never cease to get multiple comments. We had “secret sisters” at our church and I made these for my “secret sister”. She insisted to the organizers that she have my name so I could be on her food committee for the next big dinner and the cupcakes were a huge success again..
Do you use seedless jam? If not, are the seeds noticeable? Along with the lemon juice, I would like to use lemon extract instead of zest(someone prefers no zest), how much would you recommend?
The jam I use has some seeds in it, but I don’t really notice them. You can use seedless jam if you prefer though. I would probably use about 1 teaspoon of lemon extract, then add more if needed.
These look amazing! Can I make them as mini cupcakes, do you think? I wonder how that would change the baking time.
Yes, that would be fine! Baking time for mini cupcakes is usually 10 to 14 minutes.
Would it be possible to add fresh raspberries to the cupcake batter or would that not work? Thanks!
I think that would be fine!
DEEELISH!!! Just wanted to let you know, Trader Joe’s has the best freeze dried fruit (strawberries, raspberries, mixed berries, pineapple, and so forth). I like to grind up raspberries and sprinkle the dust on top of the frosting, or chop slightly and mix into the cake batter for an extra zing surprise in each bite!
I have found Trader Joe’s has freeze dried raspberries and blueberries year round. Hope you have one local, those packets are so delicious. Have a shortbread cookie recipe that uses it and sooo delicious
Unfortunately the lemon cupcake recipe did not work for me. They were quite a bit dense and did not rise much. I’m guessing that it was too much baking powder for baking down in the South with all this humidity.
Sorry the cupcakes didn’t turn out well for you, Anna. Did you make sure to mix the butter and sugar together for several minutes until they were light and fluffy? And have you tested your baking powder to make it it’s still fresh? Those are two reasons the cupcakes may not have risen.
Hello, can i skip the yogurt or sourcream?
You can, but the cupcakes won’t be quite as moist.
Hi! Wondering if there is a substitute for the heavy cream, as I always feel bad purchasing an entire container for such a small amount. Thanks!
You can replace it with milk.
I am not a baker at all but was craving some raspberry lemon cupcakes. Your recipe was very easy to follow and they came out great! I even used a handheld mixer (I don’t have a stand mixer) and the cupcakes were very light and fluffy and the buttercream was tasty! Thank you for sharing this
I don’t bake much and when I do I usually give away most of what I make (It’s just me and my cat). Anyway, I made these and they were delicious. I dropped some off at my friend’s house and they fought over them! My dad said, “that’s how a cupcake should taste!” I do have a question about the frosting. I felt it was a little too sweet for me. How do I make them less sweet?
Thanks,
Chris
So glad you liked the cupcakes, Chris! You could try reducing the powdered sugar in the frosting, but keep in mind that it will make the frosting softer.
I’m in a pinch and won’t be able to get back out to a grocery store. I have both Raspberry and Lemon extract. I’m hoping to add both to the frosting to use on a white cake. Would this work? If so, how much of each extract should I use?
Hi, Jae! Are you wanting to add it to the raspberry buttercream frosting in this recipe? Or do you not have any raspberry jam and you’re wanting to add both to the frosting?
Can I use 2% milk instead of whole milk?
Yes, that would be fine.
Is there a reason you use Granulated Sugar instead of Caster Sugar for the cupcakes?
It’s what I always use and keep on hand, but you can use caster sugar in the cupcake recipe.
This recipe was delicious. Although, i’m not sure what went wrong with my frosting, it came out a bit gritty. I’m not sure if it was that I didn’t sift the powdered sugar or if it was the butter. Other than that, the cake was moist and tasted so good. My family really enjoyed them thank you!
So glad you liked the cupcakes! You can try sifting the powdered sugar and see if it helps. You can also buy superfine powdered sugar which may be a better option if you found the regular kind to be too gritty.
Would it be possible to double or triple this recipe quantities (both for the cake and the buttercream) to make more? I’m a total amateur and just wondering if there’s anything I should consider when doing so. Thank you!
You could double the cupcake batter to make a layered cake. The frosting may be enough for a layered cake, but if you want more you can multiply the frosting recipe by 1.5.
Thank you! And if I wanted to multiply the recipe in order just to make more frosted cupcakes (not a layered cake) would doubling/tripling work for those too?
That would be fine, I would just be careful not to over mix the batter, especially if you triple it.
Thank you, going to try it out today 🙂
Can you freeze these and for how long will they last in an air tight container?
Yes, absolutely! They should keep for up to 3 months in an airtight container in the freezer.
Good evening ma’am. I’m in the Army and decided to make this for my peers to boost morale as I work in a hospital and all the cupcakes were demolished in 10 minutes.
Your recipes are extremely easy to follow and I truly feel like a pro baker in training! Thank you for giving me confidence in the kitchen!
Thank you, Grace! So happy to hear that!
Hi! Do you know how long I would need to bake these if I made mini cupcakes?
I would guess about 10-14 minutes.
Loved this recipe! Everyone was raving about it! Quick question…could I replace the lemon parts with lime if I wanted a lime cupcake?
Yes, that would be fine!
Hi great recipe I can’t wait to try – just wondering if I can replace
Sour cream with something else maybe Greek yoghurt or normal
Cream ?
Greek yogurt would be fine.
Can I skip the lemon zest?
Yes, just keep in mind that the cupcakes won’t have quite as much lemon flavor if you do.
I made these yesterday and are they so good!! The lemon to raspberry ratio is spot on! Thanks for sharing this. Quick question: what temp/time Would these bake as mini cupcakes?
I would probably bake them for 10-14 minutes for mini cupcakes.
Thank you!!! 🙂
What would you use instead of sugar? This is for diabetics.
I haven’t tested this recipe with a sugar alternative, so I’m not quite sure.
Can Splenda be used instead of sugar? Have you used buttermilk instead of whole milk?
I wouldn’t recommend using just Splenda, it will affect the taste and texture of the cupcakes. You can use buttermilk though.
I have made this twice, while the fast is spot on, my cupcakes don’t rise. I even paid extra attention to how much I maxed it, any tips?
Sorry to hear that, Shannon. Did you make sure to cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy? If so, you may check your baking powder and just make sure it’s still fresh.
Can you substitute blueberry for raspberry.
Yes, that’s fine!
Could you use strawberry’s instead of raspberries and make it into a cake?
Also I made the cupcakes and they were great! A few notes are that I would cut down the sugar in the frosting by half a cup and in the batter leave out 3 tbsp of sugar. Fill the center with a Fresh raspberry, and add a bit of zest to the frosting.
You could certainly use strawberry jam instead of raspberry jam. Glad you enjoyed the cupcakes!
the cupcakes were amazing!! i was just wondering if they would work in a normal 2 layer cake form have you tried this do you know ? thanks
You can bake it into a cake too, for a 2 layer cake I would double the cupcake recipe.
Can this recipe be halved?
Yes, that would be fine!
I’m putting a hole in the center of the cupcake after baking and filling with Raspberry jam or make one up myself. I will bring it out of the cupcake for the center and pipe icing around that. Cut down on some sweetness from icing
I absolutely love your recipes! I have to wonder why you don’t post them with the metric version for those of us that prefer to use a kitchen scale to weigh our dry ingredients. Weighing is by far the most accurate and consistent way to bake.
All of my new recipes do include them now, this one is just an older one before I started adding them. I just added the grams and ml measurements to the recipe 🙂
Wonderful Cupcake recipe. My whole family loved them. I didn’t have any milk so substituted Kafir for the same amounts of sour cream and milk. Turned out just fine. I made only twelve but big ones. I also used powdered frozen rasberries with the american buttercream. So delicious. Next time, I will definitely try to fill them with lemon curd. Thank you so much for sharing. Your recipes always are so delicious and always work out. Definitely my go to site. My home is that much sweeter with your help. So grateful.
Thank you, Giselle! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes!