I made these Daisy Cupcakes a few weeks ago, before it was even officially spring, just because I was SO ready for the seasons to change. And I can confirm, making these cupcakes will put the biggest smile on your face. They’re like little cakes made of citrusy sunshine and lemon zest and fluffy sweet-tart goodness.

These Daisy Cupcakes also happen to be pretty easy. I used store-bought lemon curd (Bonne Maman in my favorite!), but I also have a from scratch recipe here if you’d like to go that route.

The cake and frosting are pretty straight forward. Once you core the cupcakes, I do recommend placing a little cake top back on top of the lemon curd once you fill the centers. I didn’t do that step and it was a little difficult to pipe frosting over that part.

I made these on a random cloudy Sunday, and I think they’re an especially fun baking project for a rainy or gray day. They’re also, obviously, perfect for celebrating spring and everything that comes with it.

Happy baking! 💛

More Spring Recipes

Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
Easy Strawberry Cake
Berries & Cream Cake
Browned Butter Hummingbird Cake

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Daisy Cupcakes

These easy lemon cupcakes are filled with lemon curd and topped with daisy frosting for the perfect spring treat.

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 18

Cool time: 4

Total Time: 4 48

Servings: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

Lemon Cupcakes

1 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp lemon zest
½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 tsp lemon extract
2 large eggs at room temperature
½ cup buttermilk
1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 12.7-oz jar lemon curd (I used Bonne Maman)

Lemon Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 tsp lemon extract
2 tbsp heavy cream or milk
3 cups powdered sugar
Yellow gel food coloring

Instructions

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
Place sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl; use your fingertips to rub the lemon zest into the sugar. This will release the natural oils in the zest and add more flavor!
Cream butter and lemon-sugar mixture on medium speed with an electric mixer, 2-3 minutes. Add lemon extract and eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add buttermilk, flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing well and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Spoon batter into the prepared pan, filling each cavity about ⅔ full. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool completely.
Use a paring knife to core out the middle of each cupcake, making sure not to go all the way to the bottom. Fill cupcakes with lemon curd and place a “top” back on top of the lemon curd. (Placing the top back on is optional, but it will make piping the frosting easier!)

To make the frosting:

Cream butter on medium-high speed with an electric mixer. Add lemon extract, and cream. Mix well, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Slowly mix in powdered sugar until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove about ½ cup of frosting and stir in 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring. Transfer to a piping bag with a small round tip. Transfer remaining vanilla frosting to a piping bag fitted with another small round tip.
To pipe the daisies, start at the edge of the cupcake and pipe inward, applying consistent pressure until you reach the center. Repeat all the way around the cupcake, creating five to six petals. Pipe yellow frosting in the center. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
Store cupcakes covered at room temperature for 2-3 days.