Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
These Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes blend bright lemon cake with sweet strawberry cream cheese frosting. A perfect summer dessert bursting with real fruit flavor
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes:
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1¼ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp tsp
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup whole milk
- Zest of 2 lemons
Strawberry & Lemonade Cream Cheese Frostings:
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 4 oz unsalted butter (softened)
- 4 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 oz freeze-dried strawberries
Instructions
Lemon Cupcakes:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a cupcake tray with papers or grease and flour each cup.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs until slightly pale (about 1 minute), then add sugar and whisk for another minute.
- Add vanilla and oil; whisk until fully combined.
- Stir in half of the flour mixture using a spatula.
- Add milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir gently until incorporated.
- Add remaining flour mixture and fold until just combined—don’t overmix.
- Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for 12–15 minutes, rotating halfway through. Cool completely before frosting.
Strawberry & Lemonade Cream Cheese Frostings:
- Pulse freeze-dried strawberries into a powder and sift to remove chunks. Set aside.
- In a bowl, beat cream cheese and butter for 3 minutes until fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar gradually while mixing on low; then beat on medium until smooth. Mix in vanilla extract.
- Divide the frosting into two bowls—add lemon zest to one and strawberry powder to the other.
- Beat each bowl again until smooth and fully combined.
- Lay plastic wrap flat and spread each frosting side by side in a strip. Roll it into a log.
- Place the log into a piping bag fitted with your favorite tip.
- Pipe the swirled frosting onto cooled cupcakes. Garnish with strawberries and serve!
