These lemon poppy seed cupcakes are just like lemon poppy seed muffins except their texture is super moist and they are topped with the creamiest lemon cream cheese frosting. The cupcakes themselves are full of lemon flavor. These are a spring must bake!
How To Make Lemon Poppy Seed Batter
- Room temperature ingredients- Pull out the butter, eggs, and buttermilk out before you start baking. Leave on the counter for at least 30 minutes.
- Fresh Lemon- Don’t use the lemon juice from a bottle! Fresh lemon is best for this recipe. It will give you the perfect tangy lemon flavor
- Beat butter and sugar- Beat these for at least 3 minutes on medium-high. This will aerate the butter and give a nicer crumb.
- Add in lemon zest and lemon juice- Again, make sure it is fresh!
- Add in eggs- Add these in one at a time. Make sure to scrape the bowl so the butter gets well mixed in.
- Add in dry ingredients and buttermilk- Alternate these 2 ingredients until you end on dry ingredients.
Buttermilk Substitution
If you can’t find buttermilk at your grocery store, you can use 1/2 cup milk (whole or 2%) and add 1/2 TBSP of lemon juice. Let it sit for 10 minutes before adding to the batter.
Scooping The Batter
Use a 12 cup muffin tin and line with muffin liners. Then use a 1 1/2 TBSP cookie scoop. This is the medium size.
Scoop the batter into the muffin tin. They should be 2/3rds full.
Then, bake for 16-18 minutes. They should be done baking when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
This frosting is SO good. It is must make with these cupcakes. The tang from the lemon and cream cheese pairs so well together. This frosting uses a smaller amount of cream cheese to get a stronger frosting.
First, the cream cheese needs to be room temperature before baking. Then. pull the butter out for 30 minutes. Slightly cold butter will help keep the frosting firm, but not so cold that the mixer can’t whip it up.
Next, beat the two together using a mixer. Beat well until they are creamy and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar slowly. It will be very thick at this point.
Then, add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and heavy cream. Whip up on low until starting to combine. Make sure to scrape the bowl so the stiff butter gets mixed in too.
Beat on high for 1 minute to get a creamy frosting.
Preventing Gritty Frosting
If you have problems with a gritty frosting, that usually means you need to sift the powdered sugar. Powdered sugar naturally is clumpy, so it needs to be sifted before adding to the frosting.
Do I Need That Much Powdered Sugar?
Yes! I know it seems like a lot, but since there is cream cheese in this frosting, you need the powdered sugar to keep it firm. If you use less powdered sugar you will get a more runny frosting.
Decorating The Cupcakes
Now, this part is optional. For added fun to these cupcakes, I added extra lemon zest and poppy seeds. The extra lemon zest gives it an extra kick.
How To Store The Cupcakes
These lemon poppy seed cupcakes need to be stored in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting. Make sure to store in an air tight container. They will last up to 5 days in the fridge.
Freezing The Cupcakes
The lemon poppy seed cupcakes can be frozen for later. Wrap each cupcake in cling wrap and store in an air tight container. They will last up to 30 days in the freezer.
To thaw, remove cupcakes from freezer about 2 hours before eating.
Other Cake Recipes To Try
Make sure to tag me on Instagram @stephaniesweettreats and leave me a review below if you made this cake. I hope you loved it! To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.
Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes
Ingredients
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- 1 3/4 cup All-purpose flour
- 1/2 TBSP Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 TBSP Poppy seeds
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup White granulated sugar
- Zest of 2 lemons medium-large lemons
- 2 TBSP Lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 Large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup Buttermilk room temperature
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 3/4 cup Unsalted butter slightly cold
- 4 oz Cream cheese room temperature
- 5 cups Powdered sugar sifted
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tsp Lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 TBSP Heavy cream
- Poppy seeds for decoration
- Extra lemon zest for decoration
Instructions
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners.
- In a mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Then, mix in poppy seeds. Using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high for 3 minutes.
- Add in zest of 2 lemons and lemon juice. Mix until combined. Scrape the bowl. Add in the eggs one at time on low. Scrape the bowl.
- Add in 1/3 of the dry ingredients and half of the buttermilk .Mix until just combined. Add in another 1/3 of the dry ingredients and the rest of the buttermilk. Mix. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Scrape the bowl and mix for 10-15 seconds.
- Use 1 1/2 TBSP cookie scoop to scoop the batter into the muffin tins. Fill them 2/3 full.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes. The cupcakes are done baking when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cupcakes sit in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Then allow them to cool completely.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Let the butter sit for 30 minutes on the counter to get slightly cold. While waiting, sift the powdered sugar. Beat the cream cheese on high for 1 minute before adding the butter. Beat for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Scrape the bowl.
- Slowly add in the powdered sugar. Scrape the bowl. Add in zest of 1 lemon, lemon juice, and heavy cream. Mix on low until just combined. Mix on high for 1 minute until light. Then, decorate. Keep in the fridge.
Kathy
These sound so delicious…I would like to make as mini cupcake size…what do you suggest as a baking time?
Stephanie Rutherford
For baking time I suggest 9-13 minutes
Izzy
I made this cupcakes for my moms birthday and she LOVED them! Such a moist and light lemon cake and the frosting is AMAZING. We were practically eating it out of the piping bag. Definitely a unique and delicious cupcake! And the instructions were super easy to follow!