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.
Hello I’ve been trying to find a lemon raspberry recipe and I’m happy I found yours. I do have a question before I make them. Can I fold chopped raspberries into the batter or will that ruin the texture of the cake ?
You probably could, but raspberries are very soft and this is a thicker cupcake batter so you’ll need to mix them in very gently. I think using a raspberry cake filling/jam in the center of the cupcakes may be a better option.
loved it! but one question, i accidentally made them last night thinking i had to have them ready by today but turns out they’re for tomorrow… i have them in the w*lm*rt plastic containers that hold 6 cupcakes each. will these hold well in the fridge even though they’re already frosted? i’m scared they’re gonna dry out.
Yes, as long as the container is pretty airtight they will be okay! I would let them sit at room temperature for an hour or two, so they’re not too cold when you serve them.
One of the best cupcake recipes I have ever made. Perfect pairing of lemon and raspberry. Made them for a friend’s birthday tomorrow and so excited to see her enjoy them.
If I wanted to make mini cupcakes would I have to change the temp or amount of minutes
You can keep the oven temperature the same and just reduce the baking time to 10 to 14 minutes.
Is there a way I can make the frosting more raspberry flavored and less sweet? It’s very good as is, but I’m wondering if there’s somehow to add an extra kick of the berry with the lemon while keeping the same consistency.
The best way would be to use freeze-dried raspberries instead of jam. You can blend 1 cup (about 1 ounce) into a fine powder, strain the powder through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds, and mix that into the frosting. You will need to use a little extra heavy cream to get it to the right consistency.
What tip did you use to frost the cupcakes? They look beautiful
Thank you, Dianna! I believe I used the Wilton 1M piping tip for these cupcakes.
One of the best cupcakes I have ever eaten. I will definitely make these again!
The lemon cake part of this recipe is great. The raspberry buttercream is nearly perfect, other than being way too sweet, at least for my palate.
Hello, I’m wanting to make the cupcakes using cake flour (or 50/50 cake flour/ ap flour). Would cake flour work and how would it effect the results?
It would be fine to use cake flour, it will likely make the cupcakes taller and softer. It is lighter than all-purpose flour though, so you will want to use 3 extra tablespoons of cake flour. Or you can use my lemon cupcake recipe here that uses cake flour. Hope that helps!
Hello, I’d like to try your recipe for lemon cupcakes and would like your recommendations for using alternative sugars such as monk fruit or xylitol for the cake, and swerve confectionery sugar for the frosting. Can’t wait to try them!
– Shelly
Hi, Shelly! I don’t bake with sugar-free alternatives and I’ve never tried it with this recipe, so I can’t really give any suggestions. I’m sure there are some other great options out there that are sugar-free though.
Can I use the cake portion without the lemon for vanilla cupcakes? These cupcakes are amazing. As for the icing, should i add a tad bit more of the powdered sugar for a thicker consistency?
It may be okay, but I haven’t personally tried it. I do have a vanilla cupcake recipe here though. You can add more powdered sugar to the frosting as well.
Delicious cupcakes!! I made a double batch of these for my mom’s birthday, as she requested something lemony. Everyone at her party raved over the cupcakes, they stole the show!
Between everyone in our family with celiac and a slew of allergies, I modified it to be gluten free/ soy free/ dairy free/ corn free. I subbed Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 All Purpose flour, Earth Balance Soy Free vegan butter, Califia almond milk creamer, and Wholesome powered sugar with tapioca starch. The result was so good nobody knew they were gluten free/ allergy friendly!
The only thing I noticed was the frosting needed a little extra time to chill before piping, likely because the vegan butter was too soft… but the flavor was incredible, and not sickening-sweet like most buttercreams.
I’m definitely saving this recipe to make again! Maybe for my birthday in a couple months. 😉
Have you tried eggless?
Flax eggs may work, but I haven’t personally tried them in this recipe.
Hi. I am wondering if these can be frozen and iced at a later time?
Yes, they will freeze well for up to 3 months.
Can you use freeze dried raspberries and blend them (just like your strawberry frosting recipe) in place of preserves?
Yes, that would be fine! You may need to add a little extra heavy cream.
Would this work as a cake instead of cupcakes? I’m hoping to make it as a birthday cake
Yes, it would! It’s enough for one 9-inch cake layer. If you want to make a layered cake, I would double the cake recipe.
I used your recipe for vanilla,lemon and chocolate cupcakes. The best cupcakes we have ever had. These recipes are the best! Thank you for sharing them.
Thank you, Holly! So glad you enjoyed the cupcakes!
Hi Danielle!
My brother-in-law (famous in my family for his desserts) said that these cupcakes were the best he’s had! Is there a way to make this recipe dairy-free? I used vegan butter last time and it came out great!
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Thank you, Kelsey! You could probably swap out the milk for something like almond milk and the sour cream for a dairy-free yogurt. You can also replace the heavy cream in the frosting with almond milk or another dairy-free milk.
Can I make everything the day before and frost the day I need them?
Yes, that would be fine!
These are the BEST lemon cupcakes ever- easy to make and a definite crowd pleaser. I make them for all the birthday celebrations where I bring cupcakes. In Canada we have Crave cupcakes- a popular chain. My brother in law said these are better because they are lemony and not as sweet as the sugary Crave confections. I bet you could get away with about half of the icing. I personally like a lot of icing but I don’t use all of it on these cupcakes- it’s too much for others. Later there is more icing for me to scoop onto a cookie, or a strawberry, or a piece of toast…a spoon…you get it! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Another winner!! Huge compliments on these yesterday, from “the lemoniest ever” to “I can’t stop eating these!”. I made them as mini cupcakes with a simple powdered sugar + lemon juice icing for the first real beach day of the season. The few remaining at the end of the day were still in really good shape after *5 hours* in just an insulated cooler bag with ice packs on the bottom. (Thank goodness for beach umbrellas!) Bonus: the recipient of last summer’s Vanilla Cupcakes ate 5 of these, then said “my” vanilla ones still were best. 🙂
Can i use half and half instead of whole milk?
Yes, that would be fine!
Hi, I was just wondering if I could use strawberry preserves instead of raspberry because I’m making these for someone with a gluten allergy and that’s what I have right now.
Thanks, Ellie
Yes, that would be fine.
Hi! I wanted to make mini cupcakes with this recipe would I just shorten the bake time?
Yes, bake time for mini cupcakes is usually about 10-14 minutes.
Hey! I borrowed the buttercream recipe for some macarons. Amazing! I cut the recipe in half and after blending everything I folded in some crushed freeze dried raspberries. They made nice red specks and a nice boost to the already great rasberry taste. Thanks!
Hi Daniellle,
I wanted to let you know that I made your recipe for the lemon cupcakes with raspberry filling this weekend and they were a huge hit. Thanks for sharing!
So happy to hear that, Linda! Thank you!
hi so i want to know if i can reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe?
You could probably reduce the granulated sugar by about 1/4 cup. I wouldn’t recommend more than that though because it would change the texture of the cupcakes. For the frosting, you can reduce the powdered sugar by 1/2 cup but the frosting will be softer.
Hi! I made these cupcakes and they were out of this world! Someone asked me to make a 3 tier cake. Should I double or triple the recipe? Thank you so much!!
You would need to triple the cake portion of the recipe to make a three layer 9-inch cake. I also have a lemon cake recipe here.
Hi I was just wondering to make these cupcakes that will serve 6. And what will the ingredient amounts will be. Doing this for assignment:)
I would just cut the recipe in half. You will probably get 7-8 cupcakes, but scaling it down to make exactly 6 won’t work very well.
Hi Danielle,
I was wondering if I can make this a raspberry lemonade cupcake by swirling raspberry preserves in the batter before baking? Do you think that would make it too wet? It would not be a lot..
Thank you1!
I think that would be fine! I would warm the preserves in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds, just so they’re easier to swirl with the batter.