These cheerful citrus cupcakes are delicious, easy and can be made with lemons, limes, clementines, grapefruit, oranges or a fun combination of citrus fruits and when paired with my creamy citrus buttercream frosting, these cupcakes pack a bright, tangy punch of citrus that everyone will love.
Let’s get started…
Begin by gathering 8 tablespoons of room temperature butter, 1 cup of granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon of citrus extract, 1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 cup of whole milk, 1 tablespoon of citrus zest, 1/4 cup of lime juice and 1/4 cup of orange juice.
The most important element of these cupcakes is the citrus! Today, I am using a combination of lemons, limes and clementines, but you can use any kind of citrus you like or have on hand. For the batter, you will need a nice heaping tablespoon of fresh citrus zest and 1/2 cup of fresh citrus juice. I highly suggest using organic fruit for these cupcakes, as the zest is big part of the flavor in these delicious little desserts and the outer skin of non-organic fruits can be full of pesticides… we don’t want anything like that in our cupcakes, right?
Once you have harvested your citrus juice and zest, combine 8 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup of granulated sugar in a large bowl until the mixture is creamy and a nice pale yellow.
Next, add 2 eggs and 1/4 cup of whole milk along with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon of your favorite citrus extract and mix until fully combined.
Next, add 1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and whisk until the dry ingredients are just combined.
Last, but not least, gently whisk in 1 tablespoon of citrus zest, 1/4 cup of lime juice and 1/4 cup of clementine juice (or 1/2 cup of any citrus juice).
Now that your beautiful citrus batter is ready to go, fill greased cupcake tins half way… only half way! This batter fluffs up a lot as it bakes, so filling your tins half way will result in perfectly shaped cupcakes with a nice little crown.
This recipe makes about 40 mini cupcakes, 20 average sized cupcakes or 12 big cupcakes.
Bake your cupcakes on the center set rack of a 350 degree oven until they are lightly golden, puffed up and a toothpick comes out of the center clean. Mini cupcakes take about 10 minutes, regular cupcakes take 14-16 minutes and large cupcakes take 18-22 minutes.
Once they are baked, transfer them out of the tins and directly onto a cooling rack.
While your cupcakes are cooling, whip up some of this fabulous citrus buttercream frosting!
Once your cupcakes have cooled, top them with a generous amount of citrus buttercream frosting and a sprinkle of some brightly colored citrus zest or maybe some sprinkles and get ready to take a bite of the happiest, most delicious little cupcakes ever…
I don’t know if it’s because I already know how these little guys taste or what, but I just think they look so happy and cheerful. The actual cupcake is super light and fluffy and just bursting with sweet, tangy flavors and when you add the tart, creamy frosting… all bets are off.
Citrus Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon of citrus extract (lemon, lime or orange)
- 1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 cup of whole milk
- 1 tablespoon of fresh citrus zest
- 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup of fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Vigorously whisk 8 tablespoons of room temperature butter with 1 cup of granulated sugar in a large bowl until pale in color and creamy
- Add 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon of citrus extract and whisk to combine
- Add 1/4 cup of whole milk and mix to combine
- Add 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and mix until just combined
- Gently whisk in 1 tablespoon of citrus zest, 1/4 cup of lime juice and 1/4 cup of clementine juice
- Grease or line a cupcake tin and fill each cavity half way with batter
- Bake the cupcakes in a 350 degree oven for 8-20 minutes (depending on the size of the cupcakes)
- Transfer the cupcakes out of the tin directly onto a cooling rack to cool fully before frosting
- Top with citrus buttercream frosting and decorate with fresh citrus zest or sprinkles (optional)
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature
