Fluffy Lemon Cupcakes are topped with BLACKBERRY Buttercream! These Lemon Blackberry Cupcakes are so pretty and always a showstopper. Their refreshing flavor makes them perfect for Spring and Summer celebrations!
Moist Lemon Cupcakes topped with Fluffy Blackberry Buttercream
Fact: I’m a little cupcake obsessed this Summer. Cannot get enough of them! Doesn’t matter if they’re Super Decadent Chocolate Cupcakes or of the Perfect “One Bowl” Vanilla variety – I WANT THEM ALL.
Question Tiiiiime: What’s your favorite cupcake flavor? Are you into crazy flavor combos? Or more of a classic chocolate/strawberry/vanilla kinda guy (or gal)?
Homemade cupcakes can seem like a lot of work to some people, but I’m here to tell you these lemon blackberry beauties are totally doable in just over an hour, and virtually impossible to screw up. They’re also just downright FUN to make! Cupcake baking is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon or evening, and the workload is even easier (and a lot more FUN) if you have a friend joining in on the action. I baked 3 different cupcake recipes down the beach with my nieces, and it was a BLAST! I definitely think we have some budding bloggers in the fam 😉
This simple but lovely flavor combo was inspired by the late Summer wave of (very fresh and affordable) berries we have at our fingertips. Cheap and juicy berries… such a luxury! I ate 2 cartons standing over the sink, and decided halfway through the third to regain some self-control and make a vibrantly flavored (and colored) buttercream with what was left. Thank goodness that self-control kicked in! This buttercream is killer 😉
These cupcakes are a little more work than the store-bought kind… but they’re also SO much more rewarding in the end. The base of this recipe features an easy-to-make lemon cupcake. These cupcakes are made with lemon sugar, butter, flour, baking soda, sour cream, milk, vanilla and egg whites. The method is very simple, and you can make them with or without a stand mixer.
Two things to be sure you do do:
1) Separate your eggs and use only the whites! This keeps the cupcakes light in color and nice and fluffy. If you add the whole egg it will mess with the consistency of the cupcake, since the whole egg is much more liquid.
2) Place the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and RUB the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingertips. This releases the oils in the lemon zest. Lemon oil = nice and light lemon flavor in our cupcakes! Yum.
The blackberry buttercream is probably the trickiest part of this recipe, but I think once you read how it’s done, you’ll find it’s really not tricky at all 😉 The first time I tested this recipe I tried adding fresh blackberries straight into the buttercream. That did not work. The berries broke up, released liquid, and made the buttercream a very strange texture. Hmm. Onto batch two! For my second go, I tried using a store-bought blackberry jam. This one came out OK… but the jam was sweetened, and I found the blackberry taste was mute. I wanted a bold blackberry taste. So for the third try (the winning round!) I made a blackberry reduction from blackberries, lemon juice, and just a touch of sugar.
Now, if you’re like, EEK. A blackberry reduction sounds like a lot of work. Relax 🙂 It’s really easy. You’re just going to place the blackberries in a small saucepan, add the lemon juice, and cook it on a low simmer for about 20 minutes. During this time the berries will burst, release juice, and cook down to a nice, thick berry puree. Once it’s reduced to about a quarter cup, you’ll set it aside to cool, maybe do some dishes, and then add it to the buttercream. See! Easy, right?
So next time you need/want to get your cupcake on, ditch the store-bought stuff and make your own! Once you see how simple and fun making them from scratch is, you’ll never want to go back to the box. And that’s a promise 😉
Lemon Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream (I used full fat)
- 1/2 cup milk (I used whole)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- *Zest of one lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
For the Blackberry Buttercream:
- 1 cup blackberries
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, VERY soft
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (do not SKIP!)
- 4 cups confectioners sugar (more if needed), sifted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 12 mold muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well to combine. Set aside.
- In a large measuring cup or bowl combine sour cream, milk, vanilla, and egg whites; mix well to combine. Set aside.
- In a small bowl combine sugar and lemon zest. Using your fingertips, rub the zest IN to the sugar, until fragrant and well combined.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat melted butter and sugar on medium speed until well combined; about 2 minutes.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar combination, beating until just combined. Add in sour cream/milk/egg combo and beat on low until *just combined. Over-mixing will result in a dryer/denser cake.
- Divide the cupcake batter evenly into the 12 molds, then place the pan in the oven. Bake for about 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before topping with frosting.
For the blackberry buttercream:
- Combine the blackberries and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and stir constantly until blackberries have become soft enough to mash effortlessly.; about 6-7 minutes It will look like blackberry jam. Once the mixture can coat a spoon (you will have about 1/4 cup of blackberry puree) remove from heat. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a small bowl and push the puree though, leaving any seeds/large chunks behind. Allow mixture to cool completely before using.
When ready to make buttercream:
- Place soft butter in the body of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat butter on medium-speed until completely smooth, scraping down the sides when needed; about 2 minutes. Add in the blackberry puree and beat until completely combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add in the confectioners sugar, one cup at a time, on low speed. Once all of the sugar has been added, add in salt then increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 full minutes. Ice cupcakes as desired.
- *Cupcakes can be made up to 6 hours ahead of time, but be sure to store in the fridge and bring to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.
John Mantus says
Thanks for the great recipe, Ashley! My kids and I love blackberries, so this was a perfect fit for us! 🙂
P.S. Don’t doubt yourself; short people can bake, too! 😉
Linnea says
So first, I’d like to say I made these a couple of weeks ago and they were a HUGE hit. Flavors were fantastic, presentation was gorgeous.
That being said, it was a mess of an endeavor for me, and this was by no means my first cupcake rodeo. 😉
I’d assumed, reading the ingredients list, this would make 2 dozen cupcakes, since just about every other cupcake recipe I’ve made is automatically for that amount. I had to scramble when I went to actually make them and realized the ingredients list was only for ONE dozen! Whoops. Totally my bad for not thoroughly reading in the first place, but it threw me for a loop.
It’s also much easier to state how full each cup of the tin should be filled. These turned out needing to be filled almost all the way, since they didn’t rise much at all. My experience, again, is to fill 2/3 to 3/4 full, so I had some sad, low cupcakes in their papers (nothing a healthy dose of frosting couldn’t hide, though!).
The blackberry reduction was nearly impossible to strain!! I had to mash and push and press to get a little squeezed out through my fine mesh strainer, then swipe it off into a dish, then repeat…and repeat…and repeat. It easily took me over an hour JUST to make the frosting!! The prep time is way off, in my estimation, for anyone who isn’t an absolute professional. So, allow yourself plenty of time for these bad boys!
The effort was worth it to make these for my family for Easter, but man oh man. I’m not sure I’d want to repeat the whole endeavor!
Fatimah says
I just tried the cupcake this morning and I’m disappointed with the result 🙁
1- it didn’t rise!
2- the mixture was a bit heavy
3- the cupcakes were dense and tasteless no lemon flavor no blueberry! (I added few to the some of the mixture)
Maybe next time I’ll reduce the flour and increase the lemon juice. Any suggestions?
bakerbynature says
Hi Fatimah. Did you use blueberries in the cupcake batter? That would certainly mess with the texture. Is there anything else you changed in the recipe? I look forward to helping you troubleshoot.
Fatimah says
No I changed nothing. I just split the batter in half and added blueberries to one half. So I had some cupcakes with blueberry and some plain.
I’m not sure what went wrong 🙁
bakerbynature says
Well, there are a few things I can think of that may help:
1) When measuring your cake flour, be sure you don’t pack it. It should be lightly spooned into the measuring cup, then lightly leveled off with a knife.
2) Check the expiration date on your baking soda and baking powder. This recipe includes both of those ingredients and should have no issues rising in the oven.
3) Do you use an internal thermometer for your oven? It may run hot, which can cause dense/dry cupcakes.
4) Always use FULL fat ingredients when called for.
I hope these help!
Fatimah says
Second attempt was good! I just posted a pic and tagged you!
The cake is delicious and fluffy. I added 1tbsp lemon juice to enrich the flavor but it’s still light. I like it nonetheless!
The frosting was a bit messy, will fix it mext time but I’m totally satisfied what the end result l.
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Fatimah says
I forgot to ask you this. I made cream cheese frosting and the color turned out light purple not like yours. now this was heart breaking because I was looking forward to your bright color. Any suggestions for that?
Fatimah says
Wow! The frosting color is stunning! ! I want to make it badly but I have to wait till I get some berries tomorrow 🙁
I don’t like buttercream though and I saw some comments mention cream cheese but I didn’t find it in the recipe. Can I make cream cheese frosting with the berries jam?
LDC says
I find it really hard to mix the sour cream, milk and egg mixture ind the mix og butter and egg and flour mixture. It’s full of small lumps. And I’m afraid to mix it too much.
Dalida says
Hello I was trying to see if this question had already been asked but i cannot seem to find it in any replies. Is there a substitute for the granulated sugar? I was thinking about using honey?
bakerbynature says
Hi Dalida. I would not recommend substituting honey for granulated sugar as the consistency will be very different and most likely not great in texture.
Nicole says
I am making these soon do you think that the color will still be beautiful with raspberries instead of blackberries
bakerbynature says
Hi Nicole. I actually have a raspberry version of this cupcake. Here is the link: http://bakerbynature.com/lemon-cupcakes-with-raspberry-buttercream/
McKenzie says
these cupcakes were huge hit at a family event! Everyone loved them and raved over how delicious they were! Planning to use the recipe again, but this time I would like to make a cake out of it. Do the ingredients for the recipe change, besides the obvious of doubling and or tripling the actual ingredients
Emily says
I made these cupcakes this morning with raspberry buttercream instead of blackberry….used the same recipe you posted just substituted for raspberries. Turned out great and everyone loves them! Awesome recipe. Will definitely make again
Rose says
I made this cupcakes yesterday and had zero problems. I’m glad I started them beforei read some of the comments because that may have discouraged me. I’m not sure why so many people had trouble with making these beauties but they came out perfectly for me. I wish I could add my picture of them.
bakerbynature says
Hi Rose. I’m so so happy you enjoyed these cupcakes – they really are something special! Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know how this recipe turned out. If you’d like to share your photo, feel free to post it on my Facebook wall https://www.facebook.com/pages/Baker-by-Nature/123135011188380 ; I’d love to see it 🙂