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These lovely lemon curd cupcakes topped with a cream cheese lemon curd frosting is the perfect treat for lemon lovers!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
These lemon curd cupcakes are lemon heaven. A tender lemon cupcake that is filled with lemon curd and topped with a lemon cream cheese frosting!
Springtime and lemon go together at our house although I am known to enjoy lemon all year long. It’s my favorite flavor ever!
What is Lemon Curd?
Lemon Curd is the most important ingredient in these lemon curd cupcakes. You can purchase it at the store but homemade is so easy to make and it is ALWAYS better than store bought. We are going to make our own for this recipe.
Lemon Curd is a combination of lemon juice, sugar, eggs, salt and butter. It has a jam like topping that can be used on scones, biscuits, cookies, cakes, you name it! It is a lemon lovers favorite jam!
Ingredients Needed
- Flour. I prefer unbleached all purpose flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Butter. I use salted butter. If using unsalted butter, add a pinch more salt.
- Sugar. Both granulated and powdered sugar
- Eggs
- Milk. I use 2 percent but use what you have on hand.
- Vanilla Extract
- Lemon Extract
- Lemons.
- Cream Cheese
- Whipping Cream
How to Make Lemon Curd Cupcakes
- Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.
- Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add egg yolks, one at a time. Mix well
- Alternately add in flour mixture and milk. Beginning and ending with flour. Add in vanilla and lemon extract and lemon zest.
- In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold beaten egg whites into batter gently
- Place cupcake liners in muffin tin and fill 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool.
How to Make Lemon Curd Filling
- While the cupcakes are baking, make your lemon curd and allow it to cool until about room temperature. It is easy to do in a saucepan on the stove top. Just be sure to stir it continuously so it doesn’t burn. I stick the pan in the refrigerator after cooking to speed up the cooling process.
I have a full tutorial for lemon curd here.
- Fill the cupcakes with lemon curd. To get the lemon curd into the middle of the cupcake I use a plastic squeeze bottle. I just poke the nose of the bottle right into the middle of the cupcake and squeeze. If you don’t have a squeeze bottleone, use the end of a wooden spoon to make a hole in the middle of the cupcake and carefully spoon lemon curd into the hole.
How to Make Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
The crowning glory and main attraction to these cupcakes is the frosting. It is amazing!! You will want to make these cupcakes just so you can make this frosting.
How to Frost a Lemon Curd Cupcake
- Fill a piping bag with the frosting along with a large round tip.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. You can also just use a knife and frost them.
- Garnish the cupcakes with a slice of fresh lemon.
Frequently Asked Questions
You will need to keep these cupcakes refrigerated over night due to the cream cheese in the frosting. Bring the cupcakes back to room temperature though before serving. The frosting can sit at room temperature for up to 8 hours.
They will last up to 3 days if kept in the fridge and frozen for up to 1 month.
If you love lemon curd cupcakes, try these recipes:
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Lemon Curd Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Lemon Cake:
- 3 cups flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 2 cup sugar
- 4 eggs separated
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- zest of two lemons
Lemon Curd:
- 2 lemons juiced and zested
- 4 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 Tbsp butter cold
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
- Half of the above lemon curd recipe above.
Instructions
Lemon Cake:
- Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.
- Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time. Mix well
- Alternately add in flour mixture and milk. Beginning and ending with flour. Add in vanilla and lemon extract and lemon zest.
- In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold beaten egg whites into batter gently
- Fill cupcake liners in muffin tin. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool.
- Use half of lemon curd recipe to fill the cupcakes either with a squeeze bottle or by cutting a small hole in the middle of the cupcake and filling with lemon curd
Lemon Curd:
- Zest and juice the lemons
- In a small sauce pan mix together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Stir over medium heat until mixture thickens.
- Stir in the butter 1 Tbsp at a time and stir until butter melts.
- Cover lemon curd with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled and thickened
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff.
- In another bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Add in lemon curd and beat until smooth.
- Fold in whipped cream and frost or pipe frosting onto cooked cupcakes. If there are cupcakes leftover, refrigerate cupcakes overnight. Bring to room temperature to enjoy.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Facts:
Originally posted April 20, 2011
glen says
searching for the perfect lemon dessert for Easter Brunch…..going to test them out this weekend. They sound wonderful/
Susie says
I can’t wait to make these. I had a question about the frosting…Do you use granulated sugar or powered sugar?
Leigh Anne says
Powdered sugar
Tricia says
Thanks for the recipe! I would like to turn this into a layer cake…any tips on what to do with the lemon curd? Just spread a thin layer on the cake before every frosting layer?