Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
ShareStrawberry lemonade cupcakes featuring moist homemade lemon cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting and a surprise lemon curd filling! A fun treat for spring and summer!
I hope you had a great Mother’s Day! We enjoyed a nice low-key Sunday at home, enjoying French toast for breakfast and a Harry Potter marathon. It was another off and on crappy spring day in New England, so indoor activities were a must! The Mr and kiddos spoiled me. It was a nice surprise and now I can’t wait to play with some of my new toys! One of my favorites was this giant donut pool float. I had one last year but it got a hole right on the seam, which proved basically impossible to fix. Hopefully this one lasts longer. It’s seriously the best float when it doesn’t have holes!
This weather has seriously been awful. Another roller coaster ride. I’m sure that’s the case all over the country this year, but I’m ready for some consistent warm and sunny weather. At least if it’s rainy, the bugs aren’t bothering us, but it sure does put a damper on outdoor activities. 2/3 soccer games so far have been rainy and cold. Not fun!
Also, if you follow me on Snapchat, you probably saw that I bought a hydrangea bush on a whim the other day. I went to the store for some fruit and left with fruit and a giant plant. It was too pretty and too good of a price to resist! Now the problem lies with trying to find the perfect spot to plant it. It might have to remain a potted plant for this season if I don’t make a decision soon!
Ever year I have dreams of gardens, whether flowering or herbs/fruit/veggies or both! The problem is, I hate getting dirty, which is kind of a problem when it comes to gardening. And the animals have no respect. The chipmunks think anything I plant is for them. Digging, hunting for treasures. They’re cute troublemakers.
These are basically the most perfect cupcake for spring and summer. A classic flavor, turned into a super fun and flavorful homemade dessert! A must make for all of your barbecues and celebrations…even days ending in a Y. That totally counts as a day to celebrate.
This is a fun smaller batch recipe, making a simple 8 cupcakes. That way you don’t have a bunch lying around taunting you to keep eating! However, if you need to feed more, simply double or triple the recipe to feed a larger crowd!
Moist homemade lemon cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting and a surprise lemon curd filling!
These strawberry lemonade cupcakes are a crowd pleaser! Add this fun dessert to your baking plans!
Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcake:
- 1/4 C unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 C granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powderÂ
- 1 C all purpose flour
- 6 Tbsp sour cream
Filling:
- 1 batch lemon curd
Frosting:
- 1 C unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 C strawberry jam
- 1/2 tsp strawberry extract
- 1 drop red gel food color
- 2 1/2 C powdered sugar
Additional items:
- Fresh strawberries for topping
Instructions
- Prepare lemon curd ahead, as directed. Keep chilled until ready to use.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with 8 paper liners.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar, mixing until light and fluffy. Mix in egg, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla extract until smooth. Scrape the bowl as needed. Add salt and baking powder, mixing until just combined. Alternate additions of flour and sour cream until fully combined and no streaks remain.
- Divide batter between prepared baking cups, using a large cookie scoop or filling roughly 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan until easy to handle, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- When cupcakes have cooled, prepare frosting. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together butter, vanilla, strawberry jam and strawberry extract until fully combined. Add powdered sugar in batches, mixing until fully combined. If desired, add 1 drop red gel food color for a brighter shade of pink.
- Transfer frosting to a large piping bag fit with desired piping tip. Set aside.
- Using a sharp knife or cupcake corer, remove the center of each cupcake. Be careful not to cut all the way to the bottom. Fill with lemon curd using a spoon or pastry bag. Trim off the bottom portion of the removed cupcake core, placing the top back onto the cupcake. Frost cupcakes with prepared frosting as desired. Top off each cupcake with a fresh strawberry prior to serving.
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to several days.
Notes
Items used in this recipe:
This post contains affiliate links.
i love strawberry and lemon combination! and they look beautiful!
Thanks, Medeja!
These are so pretty, and everything about them is perfect! I love the lemon curd surprise in the middle!
Thanks, Cynthia!
My kids have been wanting to have a lemonade stand and bake cupcakes–I think I found the recipe we need to use :)
Such a fun idea! You’ll have to share pictures. :)
These look delicious! they make me think of summer time!
Thanks, Marye!
I’m glad you were spoiled on Mother’s Day even if the weather was crap. We had ours the day before which is surprising because usually it snows or does something ridiculous on Mother’s Day. These cupcakes are gorgeous! I love the lemon curd filling and that strawberry buttercream looks so good!
That’s crazy that you usually get snow this late into the season!
These cupcakes are super cute! Would be so cute for a baby shower too:)
Thanks, Maria!
Strawberry AND lemon? These are like the cupcakes of my dreams. Shared!
Thanks, Mary!
Jessica……….all I can simply say is that these cupcakes must be served in heaven. I don’t usually choose lemon over, say, red velvet, but this is definitely a time where I choose lemon!! Keep on looking good and baking! :)
Thanks so much Jessica!
So pretty and I love that flavor combo!! I hear ya on the roller coaster weather, I’m tired of it too!!
Thanks Malinda!
Actuallly been thinking the steak to cook for tonight. Then your post made to shake my focus..I love your cup cake and its adorable!!
it is so mouth watering!!!
Thanks, Leila!
Omg!! Look Devine wish it was in UK metrics xx
Thanks, Leanne! Also, there are a ton of free conversion calculators online that you could use to convert the measurements. Enjoy! :)
Do you have a non- complicated lemon curd recipe?
Absolutely! Try this recipe: homemade lemon curd It’s about as simple as any homemade recipe will be and gives incredible results. Enjoy!! :)
I made these last weekend so I could give one to a coworker for her birthday. They are delicious. She told me the cupcake was the best out of all treats she had that day!
I can’t get enough of your cupcake recipes.
So glad to hear she enjoyed it so much. And thank you! :)
They look delicious! What tip do you use for frosting? It doesn’t look like the regular 1M tip.
An extra large open star tip was used. They’ve been linked to just below the recipe.
These look amazing. Can I sub something for the sour cream? Perhaps cream cheese?
The best substitute for sour cream is plain yogurt. Good luck!
Am I reading this right? Recipe is for 8 cupcakes. Just want to make sure before i start doing math. 😊 Thank you.
That is correct. The recipe is for 8 cupcakes. Enjoy! :)
I made these cupcakes yesterday for my daughter’s birthday party. They taste amazing, but the cake was super dense! Do you have and ideas where we went wrong? I did not make any substitutions to your recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Susan! As far as how dense they are, that could simply be related to how much flour you used. If you’re scooping very packed flour vs spooned and leveled or fluffed, scooped and leveled flour then you’ll be adding a significantly more amount to your batter.
I tried this recipe twice. I thought I must have done something wrong the first time so paid CAREFUL attention the 2nd. Both times the batter came out the exact consistency as play-doh. I tried baking it hoping for the best but it was a sugary disaster of a flavor. disappointing :(
I’ve made this successfully numerous times, as have many others. The ingredients are correct as written. It sounds like your measurements are off, specifically your flour. Be sure to not scoop and measure straight from a flour bag or container that has been sitting as the flour compresses. It needs to be fluffed up prior to measuring. You can do this easily by placing a whisk into the flour and moving it around until it’s light and fluffy. You’ll then want to spoon flour into your measuring cup and level it off. Straight scooping will result in too much flour any way you do it.