Moist, lemon poppyseed cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting. These cupcakes are tender, zesty, and easy to make as well. Perfect for warm, sunny days, or any special occasion.
Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes
Since they say muffins are pretty much cupcakes that you can eat for breakfast, I decided to actually make a cupcake that was inspired by one of my favorite muffins. Yes–lemon poppyseed. If you want my favorite lemon poppyseed muffin recipe, then I’ve got you covered, but this post is all about cupcakes.
These cupcakes start with moist lemon poppyseed cake and are frosted with a tangy lemon poppyseed cream cheese frosting. And since they were inspired by muffins that means you can absolutely eat them for breakfast. Also, how fun would these be to serve during with afternoon tea, or maybe a baby shower, or even dessert for brunch?
Why We Love These Cupcakes
I’m not going to lie, it took me 4 different batches of cupcakes and half of a giant bag of lemons from Costco to develop the perfect lemon poppyseed cupcake. I wanted to make sure that the lemon really shone through, and that the cake was as moist, tender, and flavorful as it could be. The first batch I made turned out so pale in color that I wanted to send them to a tanning bed. So I added a bit of brown sugar to add color and help them caramelize. The second batch was better–except I added too much liquid. Third batch sunk in the middle. No clue why. And in the fourth batch I tweaked the proportions of ingredients to the point where I was finally happy with the results!
Here’s why you’ll love these cupcakes as well:
- The lemon flavor shines through: in the recipe steps, we rub lemon zest and granulated sugar together at the start. This helps bring out the aromatic oils in the zest and infuses the lemon flavor into the sugar. If you love lemon, then this cupcake is perfect for you!
- These are super tender and moist lemon cupcakes: but don’t take my word for it, you’ll just have to try them for yourself. 😉
- They are topped with lemon cream cheese frosting: the best frosting for lemon poppyseed cupcakes is probably lemon cream cheese. The tangy cream cheese is the perfect completely for the slightly tangy yet sweet lemon cake.
Ingredients Needed
The ingredients for these cupcakes are simple–see below for everything you will need. You’ll also need a 12-cup cupcake pan and liners. If you have a stand mixer, I’d recommend using that, but a hand mixer will work as well.
Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes
- Freshly grated lemon zest
- Granulated cane sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature: to bring your eggs to room temperature, soak them in a bowl of very warm water for 10 minutes.
- Vanilla extract
- Buttermilk
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- All-purpose flour, baking powder, and fine kosher salt
- Poppyseeds.
Lemon Poppyseed Cream Cheese Frosting
- Unsalted butter, softened
- Plain cream cheese, softened: make sure to use the plain cream cheese that comes in the block and not the tub.
- Lemon zest
- Powdered sugar
- Poppyseeds
- A little bit of vanilla extract and kosher salt
How to Make Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes
Here are a few of my tips on how to make the best cupcakes:
- Use room temperature ingredients: cold ingredients will curdle your batter and impact the texture of your cupcakes.
- Do not over-mix the batter: this will result in tough, gummy cupcakes
- Use fresh lemons and fresh lemon juice for the best flavor
- Make sure your baking powder is still active. Test it by mixing 1 tsp baking powder with ¼ cup of warm water. It should bubble up if still good.
To make the cupcakes, start by rubbing lemon zest and granulated sugar together in a small bowl until the sugar turns a pale yellow color. Use your fingers and be gentle. This infuses lemon flavor into the sugar and brings out the flavorful oils in the lemon zest.
Transfer this sugar and add brown sugar and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can also use a hand mixer–just be warned we will be doing around 5-6 minutes of creaming in this recipe. First, cream the butter and sugars together, then scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla and beat those in as well.
Please make sure that your eggs are at room temperature! They will not properly cream into the batter if they are cold.
Then, alternate adding half the dry ingredients, the buttermilk and lemon juice, and then the remaining dry ingredients. Once I’ve added the last of the dry ingredients, I like to use a flexible spatula to finish bringing my batter together. This helps ensure that I do not over-mix, which will result in a tough batter.
Bake the cupcakes, cool them, and then frost them!
To make the frosting, first we beat butter and cream cheese together, then add the remaining ingredients and whip the frosting until it’s fluffy and smooth. In terms of getting the frosting onto the cupcakes, I used Wilton’s 1M tip, which is my favorite versatile piping tip. You can also spread it on with a knife or any other piping tip that you have!
Feel free to garnish with more poppyseeds and then enjoy!
Recipe Q&A
Can I PREPARE THESE CUPCAKES AHEAD OF TIME?
Absolutely! You can make the cupcakes and store them in an airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Note that extended time in the fridge may dry them out. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat, just make the frosting and enjoy!
How should I store leftovers?
Since there is cream cheese in the frosting, I recommend storing leftover, frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge. They will be good for up to five days, but are best if enjoyed in the first 2-3 days.
Can I use a buttermilk substitute?
As a buttermilk substitute, you can combine equal parts Greek yogurt or sour cream with milk. Alternatively, you can add ½ tsp of vinegar to your milk and let it curdle on the counter for 10 minutes. I would not recommend using plain milk, as the additional acid in buttermilk helps add flavor and texture to the cupcakes.
If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to ask in the comments or send me an email!
Did You Make This Recipe?
If so, I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a rating and/or comment to spread the love and help others find this recipe.
Also feel free take a picture and share it with me on Instagram @toppedwithhoney. Looking forward to seeing your fresh lemon poppyseed cupcakes!
If you’re not ready to bake yet, no problem! Simply hover over any image in this post (pick your favorite), or tap if you’re on mobile, and click the pin icon in the corner to save for later.
Add some more fruity cupcake ideas to your family:
Sparkling Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes
Roasted Blackberry Earl Grey Cupcakes
Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes
Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes
Ingredients
Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp fine kosher salt
- 1 tbsp poppyseeds
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 8 oz cream cheese (from block), softened
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 3½ cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tsp poppyseeds
- splash of vanilla
- pinch of fine kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan.
- In a bowl, use your fingers to rub the lemon zest and granulated sugar together until the sugar turns a light yellow. Transfer the sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer, and add the brown sugar and butter as well.
- Beat the sugars and butter together on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the eggs and vanilla and continue beating for another 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. If there are any remaining chunks of sugar that haven't blended in, continue beating for another minute.
- Combine the buttermilk and lemon juice together in a small cup. If your buttermilk is cold, warm it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to bring it to room temperature. In a different bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and poppyseeds.
- Turn your mixer onto the lowest speed and alternate adding half the flour mixture, the buttermilk, and then the remaining flour. When adding the buttermilk, stream it in rather than dump all at once. Once you've added the remaining flour, turn off the mixer and finish folding the batter by hand with a rubber spatula.
- Divide the batter between the cupcake tins, filling to around ⅔ full but no more than ¾ full. Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until the cakes are set. Let the cupcakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Start by beating the butter and cream cheese together in an electric mixer on medium speed for about a minute to combine them.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Start the mixer on low speed to bring everything together (and to keep powdered sugar from flying out everywhere), and then gradually increase the speed to medium-high. Beat for 3-4 minutes, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl in the middle.
- To frost the cooled cupcakes, use a knife or a piping tip. I used Wilton's 1M tip to create big, tall swirls. Enjoy!
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