Moist homemade lemon cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting and a surprise lemon curd filling! A fun treat for spring and summer!
Prep Time10mins
Cook Time18mins
Total Time3mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cupcake
Servings: 8cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcake:
1/4Cunsalted buttersoftened
1/2Cgranulated sugar
1large egg
Zest of 1 lemon
2Tbsplemon juicefreshly squeezed
1/2tspvanilla extract
1/4tspsalt
1 1/2tspbaking powder
1Call purpose flour
6Tbspsour cream
Filling:
1batch lemon curd
Frosting:
1Cunsalted buttersoftened
1/2tspvanilla extract
1/3Cstrawberry jam
1/2tspstrawberry extract
1drop red gel food color
2 1/2Cpowdered sugar
Additional items:
Fresh strawberriesfor 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.