These easy lemon cupcakes are filled with lemon curd and topped with daisy frosting for the perfect spring treat.
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 18 minutesminutes
Cool time 4 hourshours
Total Time 4 hourshours48 minutesminutes
Servings 12cupcakes
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes
1cupgranulated sugar
1tbsplemon zest
½cupunsalted butterroom temperature
1tsplemon extract
2large eggsat room temperature
½cupbuttermilk
1 ⅓cupsall-purpose flour
¾tspbaking powder
¼tspsalt
112.7-oz jar lemon curd (I used Bonne Maman)
Lemon Frosting
1cupunsalted butterroom temperature
1tsplemon extract
2tbspheavy creamor milk
3cupspowdered 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.