Easy Moist Lemon Cupcakes with Simple Glaze
These luscious lemon cupcakes are not only easy to prepare, but are also incredibly moist and tender. With a simple 2-ingredient glaze they are reminiscent of a popular coffee shop cake, perfect for all lemon lovers for either a special snack or dessert. Get ready for all the oohs and aahs from your friends and family when you serve this melt-in-your-mouth treat!
Looking for more easy lemon desserts? Try this lovely lemon berry cake (with an amazing lemon curd frosting!), this lick-the-pan blueberry cobbler with lemon glaze, or this moist zucchini lemon bread.
These are hands down the most lemony, melt-in-your-mouth cupcakes we’ve ever had! In our family, it’s a toss up between chocolate and lemon for favorite dessert flavors. Mostly, chocolate wins (um, hello quick and easy chocolate lava cakes) but lemon holds a dear place in all our hearts.
So whenever we’re in the mood for a light and bright flavor – usually when the weather is also light and bright – we always go with lemon.
My daughter and her friends often made these in high school when they wanted to bake – which tells you how simple this recipe is! In fact, the first time she made them, we were all surprised at how wonderful and moist they were when we just expected a run-of-the-mill cupcake.
Since then we’ve made them for birthdays, spring holidays – or anytime a lemon cupcake sounds good!
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this amazing recipe for lemon cupcakes:
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Flour: Use either all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour.
- Sugar: The finer the grain of sugar, the more moist and tender the cupcake will be.
- Yogurt or Sour Cream: both of these work well in the recipe, so use what you have (milk products help to tenderize doughs, so I’m not sure how milk substitutes would work).
How to Make Glazed Lemon Cupcakes
Here are a few helpful visual instructions – the full instructions with exact ingredients can be found in the printable recipe card below.
Step 1: Preparation. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin. TIP: Use a pastry brush with little pats of softened butter for covering each cup easily.
Step 2: Make batter. Put dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in a pourable measuring cup. Then cream the butter and sugar, adding the eggs and beating well. Then add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet.
Jami’s Tip
This cupcake recipe, while simple, does take a little bit of extra time to make because it uses a method of mixing the dry ingredients alternately with the liquid. The technique of adding liquid and dry ingredients alternately is often used in cakes to build air into the batter, which creates a lighter texture. And wow, does it work here – don’t be tempted to skip this and just add the ingredients all at the same time, this is what elevates these yummy cupcakes from that normal cupcake we were expecting the first time we made them.
Step 3: Fill muffin cups. Fill the tins about 3/4 full with the batter. TIP: a 1/4 cup muffin scoop makes this easy.
Step 4: Bake. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pan and then remove to a cooling rack set over a piece of wax paper.
Step 5: Glaze. Stir together the glaze ingredients and pour over warm cakes, using a knife to make sure the glaze is covering the tops. Cool completely or serve warm.
Storage
- Keep in airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or refrigerate for 3-5 days.
- These freezer perfectly (with glaze) – freeze any leftovers in an air tight container for 3-4 months.
Between the alternating technique, the sour cream or yogurt, and the wonderful lemon flavor, these cupcakes turn out perfectly every time, with that melt-in-your-mouth goodness.
That’s the mark of a great recipe, for sure.
I hope you love these lemon cupcakes like we do – if you make them, be sure to leave a recipe rating to let me know!
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Moist Lemon Cupcakes with Simple Glaze
Equipment
- Electric mixer or hand-held beaters
- 12 cup muffin tin
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Use a pastry brush to butter a 12-cup muffin tin and then lightly coat with flour.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl with a spout or a 4-cup measure. In a 1-cup measure, stir together the yogurt, vanilla, zest and juice of the lemon. Set these aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well.
- With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture alternately with the yogurt mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.
- Fill the tins about 3/4 full with the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pan and then remove to a cooling rack set over a piece of wax paper.
- Stir together the glaze ingredients and pour over warm cakes, using a knife to make sure the glaze is covering the tops. Cool completely or serve warm.
Notes
- Store in airtight containers at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- Freeze any leftovers in an air tight container for 3-4 months.
Nutrition
More Easy Desserts
- Individual Berry Crisps {with Fantastic Big Crumb Topping}
- Healthy No Bake Fudge Oatmeal Bars {Gluten-Free}
- Rhubarb-Honey Crumb Bars
- Whole Wheat Blackberry Crumb Bars
This recipe was first published in August of 2011 – it’s been updated in 2018 and 2025.
I see an add pop up in the Lemon cupcake recipe which I printed for my spouse, the add was for an Yardistry Greenhouse, is that the Greenhouse you have? I bought an 8X10 from Costco & I’m putting it up now.
Yes! We could only fit the smaller 6×7′ one, but I’m really liking it for starting seeds now!
So good and yummy!
How much extra time is needed for an 8×8 square glass pan
I’ve never tried that so I don’t know. From the amounts I’ve seen on other recipes, though, I think 12 cupcakes would equal a 9×13 pan.
I enjoy all the receipts, and tips. love the blue berry cobbler. i appreciate the fact you garden information is simple and you receipt are easy to follow, and they are not expensive to make.
I’m so glad, Bonnie – thank you so much!
Thank you for lovely simplified beauty ! Pinning !
Making cup cakes with yoghurt is a new one for me. I love lemon, love yoghurt and love cup cakes. So, of course I love these – they are very good.Anna
We’re just using plain yogurt here- sour cream would work as well- I’ll update the recipe to be more clear! 🙂
I love anything lemon and like the look of these too, thanks!
Oh…. yum…. Definitely a recipe to save!
Mary
sounds simple and yummy! 🙂 Esther from fleur cottage
Oh they look yummy. What flavor yogurt are we using?
They look so good!Thanks for sharing!