Lemon Orange Cupcakes
Soft and fluffy lemon cupcakes topped with creamy orange buttercream - summer in a cupcake!
Prep Time30 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Total Time45 minutes mins
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Fusion
Diet: Low Salt, Vegetarian
Servings: 8 cupcakes
Calories: 466kcal
Lemon cupcakes
- 115 g unsalted butter
- 115 g caster sugar
- 1 lemon’s zest
- 2 eggs
- 115 g plain flour see notes for self-raising flour swap**
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Orange buttercream
- 115 g unsalted butter
- 270 g icing sugar
- ½ teaspoon orange extract
- 1-2 tablespoon orange juice or milk ***
- ⅛ teaspoon salt optional
Lemon cupcakes
First preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C (fan) / Gas Mark 4 / 350°F.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and lemon zest, either using a spatula, electric hand mixer or stand mixer, until light and pale.
Beat in the eggs one at a time until fully combined.
Sieve the flour and baking powder into the mixture, gently folding in until just combined.
Stir in the milk and lemon juice until smooth.
Line your cupcake pan with cases and divide the batter evenly between them (no more than ⅔ full).
Bake for 15-20mins until golden and springy, then transfer to a rack for cooling. Make the buttercream while the cupcakes cool.
Orange buttercream
Beat the butter (either by hand, using an electric mixer or stand mixer) until pale, light and fluffy. This could take several minutes.
Sieve half of the icing sugar into the butter and beat until combined, then repeat this with the remaining half of icing sugar.
Add in the orange extract, juice and salt (if using), mixing until only just smooth. You can also beat in a few drops of orange food coloring at this point is using.
Assembly
Once your cupcakes have fully cooled, add your buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice (e.g. large open star) and pipe large swirls onto each cupcake.
Decorate with a half slice of lemon and enjoy!
* If you don't have a piping bag and tips, you can instead use a plastic freezer bag with the corner cut off to pipe a ring of frosting onto your cupcakes.
** You can swap the plain flour for self-raising flour of the same amount and reduce the baking powder by 1 tsp.
*** You can use either orange juice (fresh or bottled) or milk to thin your frosting. Orange is more fruity flavour or milk will make it creamier!
Calories: 466kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 789IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1mg