How to make lemon cupcakes with a creamy and tangy lemon curd heart and a light and fluffy mascarpone whipped cream frosting. This recipe is easy to make and perfect for enjoying the citrus season!

Lemon curd cupcakes

If you like lemon desserts then you absolutely must try this delicious and tasty lemon cupcake recipe filled with a creamy lemon curd heart and topped with a light and fluffy mascarpone frosting.

Lemon curd is a lemon-flavored filling made with eggs, butter, sugar, and lemon juice, that is usually used to garnish a lemon tart, but it can also be used as a cake filling, as in this recipe for a lemon cupcake.

These cupcakes are moist and it's just my basic vanilla cupcake recipe that I flavored with lemon zest and fresh lemon juice for a delicious tart flavor.

Topped with a mascarpone whipped cream frosting for an alternative to Italian meringue or lemon buttercream frosting. This creamy frosting is perfect for balancing the lemony flavor of the lemon curd.

This easy lemon cupcakes recipe is perfect for all lemon lovers, a perfect dessert for any occasion or just to enjoy the citrus season.

>> See all cupcake recipes from the blog

Lemon frosted cupcake with a lemon curd jar

Ingredients and substitutions

Here are the ingredients you will need to make these delicious lemon cupcakes at home and possible substitutions, scroll down to see the quantities in the recipe card.

Lemon cupcakes

Butter: Use unsalted butter that is well softened, take it out in advance or warm it up a bit in the microwave before starting the recipe.
Sugar: preferably granulated sugar and not flavored to preserve the flavor of the lemon.
Eggs: at room temperature, run them under hot water for a few moments to bring them back to temperature more quickly.
Vanilla and salt: essential for flavoring and bringing out the flavors.
Milk: preferably buttermilk for softer cupcakes. You can replace it with half-skimmed milk or plain yogurt.
Flour: Wheat flour like cake flour or all-purpose flour, which you can substitute with a gluten-free flour blend to make a gluten-free version.
Baking powder: measure the quantity with a scale, To use baking soda instead, reduce the quantity indicated in the recipe card.
Lemon flavor: essential to flavor the lemon cupcakes recipe with zest and fresh juice of an untreated and organic lemon if possible. You can replace it with bottled lemon juice.

Lemon Curd

As an option, lemon curd is added to the heart of the cupcake after baking when they are completely cooled, it brings a delicious lemon and creamy flavor, perfect in this recipe.

Mascarpone Frosting

Mascarpone whipped cream frosting is one of my favorite frosting recipes to fill and decorate layer cake recipes and cupcakes. Made with only 3 ingredients, mascarpone cheese, full heavy cream and powdered sugar.

It's a light textured frosting that adds a touch of freshness, perfect for softening the acidity of the lemon, but it's a rather fragile cream that requires refrigeration.

You can replace it with another flavored lemon frosting such as a Swiss meringue buttercream, a cream cheese frosting with my cbuttercream cream cheese frosting or vanilla whipped ganache.

⚠️ You will find the quantities and complete instructions in the recipe card at the end of the page.

How to make lemon cupcakes with lemon cream and mascarpone frosting

1 - Cupcake batter

Preheat oven to 350°F/ 180°C and set up a cupcake or muffin tin or à mini cupcakes pan with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl mix and sift together the dry ingredients, flour, salt and baking powder.
In another bowl, beat butter with the powdered sugar and lemon zest with an electric whisk for 2 to 3 minutes until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix again with electric mixer to incorporate.
Finish by alternately mixing in the milk and lemon juice mixture and the flour mixture, mixing each addition with a rubber spatula.
Fill cupcake cases ¾ full with an ice cream scoop and bake for 18-20 minutes until slightly puffed and golden on top.
Let them cool a bit in the pan before removing them from the pan and letting them cool completely on a wire rack.

2 - Lemon cream

Whisk together sugar and eggs in a large bowl until fluffy.
Add lemon zest and fresh lemon juice and mix.
Cook the mixture in a saucepan over medium heat while whisking until the cream becomes thicker.
Remove from heat, add butter and mix well to incorporate into the cream.
Cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely.
Using a cupcake remover, remove the heart of the cooled cupcakes and fill them with lemon cream.

Tip: You can make the lemon curd several days in advance, it keeps well in the fridge in a glass jar with an airtight lid.

3 - Mascarpone whipped cream

Place all ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, the cold heavy cream, mascarpone, and powdered sugar.
Then beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes until the frosting is thick and firm.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a decorating tip with all the frosting.
Decorate the top of the cupcakes, add a lemon slice, sprinkle with lemon zest, and enjoy!

Tip: Be careful not to overwhip the frosting or it will be grainy, always mix at medium to slow speed and watch the texture.

Storage instructions

At room temperature: Store lemon cupcakes without the frosting at room temperature for up to 5 days, placed in an airtight container box with a tight-fitting lid.

In the fridge: Store frosted cupcakes in the fridge for up to 3-4 days in a storage box or under plastic wrap.

In the freezer: You can also store the cupcakes without the frosting in the freezer for up to 3 months.

More Cupcakes

lemon cupcake cut in half with a heart of lemon curd

More lemon recipes

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Lemon Cupcakes

Author: Fadela
Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes
Yield: 12 cupcakes

Description

Lemon cupcakes with a lemon curd filling and a light mascarpone frosting (for 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients

Lemon Cupcakes

100 g (½ cup) Butter - unsalted and softened
150 g (¾ cup) Sugar - granulated
Zest of lemon
2 Eggs at room temperature - approx. 100g
1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla extract
120 ml (½ cup) Buttermilk - or plain yogurt
15 ml lemon juice
150 g ( 1 ¼ cups)Flour - Cake flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder - about 6 g
1 pinch of salt

Lemon curd

75 g (⅓ cup) Sugar - granulated
Juice of 2 lemons
60 g (¼ cup) Butter - unsalted
2 eggs - room temperature

Mascarpone frosting

150 g (⅔ cup) Mascarpone cheese - cold
225 ml (1 cup) Heavy cream - full fat and cold
2-3 tbsp. powdered sugar

Instructions

Lemon cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and line a cupcake tin with paper liners.
In a bowl, mix and sift together all the dry ingredients, flour, salt and baking powder.
In another bowl with the electric mixer or in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter with the sugar and lemon zest for about 2-3 minutes until creamy.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat again for a minute to incorporate.
Finish by adding the milk mixed with the lemon juice and the dry ingredient mixture, alternately and in 2-3 batches while mixing in between each addition with a rubber spatula or the paddle attachment to avoid over-mixing the batter.
Pour the cupcake batter into the cupcake cases, filling them only ¾ full.
Bake the cupcakes for 18 to 20 minutes until they are slightly puffed and golden on top.
Check baking by plunging a toothpick into the center of a cupcake, it should come out clean if the cupcake is done.
Let the lemon cupcakes cool a bit in the pan before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon curd

Place the sugar and eggs in a bowl and whisk for a few minutes until fluffy.
Add the juice of the squeezed lemons and mix again for a few moments.
Transfer this mixture to a saucepan over medium heat and whisk until the mixture thickens.
Remove from the heat and add the butter cubes and mix again to incorporate them.
Pour the lemon curd into a container with a lid and let it cool completely in the refrigerator.
Use a cupcake corer to remove the core from the cupcakes.
Fill the inside with lemon curd.

Mascarpone frosting

In a mixing bowl or in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, place all the ingredients.
Beat at medium speed for about 3 minutes until you have a thick, stiff frosting.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a decorating tip (here tip 1B) and decorate the top of the completely cooled cupcakes by forming a swirl.
Decorate with lemon zest and a lemon slice and serve immediately or refrigerate.