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These Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes are light, moist, and sunshiny sweet! Topped with lemon cream cheese frosting, lemon slices, lemon zest, and fresh raspberries, they’re the perfect Summer dessert. A must try for lemon lovers!
Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes Recipe
TGIF! What are your weekend plans? Are you doing anything fun and Summery?!
Because I leave for Paris in 6 days, it’s a work weekend for this girl. My goal is to shoot 6 new recipes and hopefully even get a little editing done. That way I have plenty of new stuff to tempt you with while I’m eating my way through the city of light (or as I like to call it, the city of wine and cheese). Did I tell you I’m even taking a baking class over there? I can’t wait to come home and share what I learn with you.
I also need to start packing… but knowing me I’ll leave that for last minute and then have a complete meltdown. C’est la vie!
But let’s talk about why you’re really here: dessert! More specifically, these luscious lemon and raspberry cupcakes. They’re sweet, tangy, and bursting with juicy berries in every bite. I love them! And I know you will, too.
Lemon Raspberry Cupcake Recipe from Scratch
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
- Because we want the moistest cupcakes possible, this recipe calls for cake flour. Cake flour is extra finely ground and gives the cupcakes their extra soft texture. In most grocery stores, you’ll probably find cake flour in the baking aisle. You can also buy it online here.
- When you measure your cake flour, be sure you’re not packing it into the measuring cup. Packed flour yields dense and dry cupcakes.
- You must toss the raspberries in flour before adding them to the batter. This dusting of flour helps keep the berries afloat during the baking process, and ensures you won’t bite into a cupcake full of sunken berries.
- Feel free to use fresh or frozen raspberries for this recipe. If you use frozen, don’t thaw them first.
- I don’t recommend using extremely large berries, which can cause the cupcakes to collapse or sink in the middle. So if you see any gigantic ones, just set them aside for another use.
- Also, don’t add more berries than called for. This too can cause the cupcakes to sink.
- Before you begin baking, make sure your butter, eggs, sour cream, and milk have all come to room temperature. Cold ingredients do not bond!
- For the lemon cream cheese frosting, you’ll want to make sure your butter and cream cheese are both VERY soft before you make it.
- Because I wanted a potent lemon flavor, I call for lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon extract in this recipe. I love Watkins pure lemon extract because it’s 100% natural, doesn’t contain any artificial flavors, colors, or additives, and just tastes like pure lemon.
More Lemon Raspberry Recipes:
If you try this recipe for Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day ♥
Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes:
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3 and 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons cake flour, divided
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen, if using frozen don't thaw first
For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 12 ounces cream cheese, VERY soft
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, VERY soft
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 4 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted, more if needed
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
Instructions
For the Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
- Line 2 cupcake tins with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter, vanilla extract, lemon extract, sugar, and lemon zest on medium-speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, beat in the sour cream, then the milk. Turn mixer off. Add in 3 and 1/4 cups of the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a fork to lightly toss the dry ingredients together. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the batter, mixing just until combined. Be sure not to over mix here or your cupcakes will be dense! Set aside. In a small bowl combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of flour with the raspberries; toss to coat. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the raspberries and any excess flour into the batter, stirring just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared cupcake tins (filling each mold 3/4 of the way). Bake one pan at a time, for about 22 minutes, or until a cupcake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, and lemon extract on medium-high speed until completely smooth; about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the sifted confectioners' sugar. Add in the lemon juice and zest. Once incorporated, increase speed to medium-high and beat for 1-2 minutes. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, spread or pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes. Decorate with fresh raspberries and a lemon slice, if desired.
Storage:
- Cupcakes are best the day they are made, but will keep, covered and stored in the fridge, for 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Very nice cupcakes and very summery! I would like to prepare ones. Thank you for the amazing recipe.
I WILL TRY TO DO THE SEAM
These look sooo good and tasted even better makes an amazing after school snack for my kids or summer treat
Do you think I can use gluten free flour?
I have the same question! Can we?
Can I substitute raspberry for strawberry?
Strawberries will bake up more gummy than raspberries, so I don’t recommend it.
I noticed your lemon blueberry cupcake uses a different cake base, with all purpose flour and an extra egg yolk. Is there a particular reason you chose that cupcake base for the blueberry lemon and this one with cake flour for the raspberry lemon? Thanks!
Hi Mary. They’re both delicious! Blueberries are a little heavier than raspberries, so I went with a sturdier batter for that recipe, and a more delicate one for this.
Thank you!! Everything you post is so beautiful, I want to make every one 🙂
Ah, I see!
I was wondering the same thing. Would it be possible to add both blueberries and raspberries into the same batter? If so, which base should I use? I recently made the lemon blueberry cupcakes and they were a hit but I would like to make them for a 4th of July BBQ and want to make them more patriotic.
If you’re going to combine berries, I’d still suggest only using the called for amount. Using too many berries can cause a very soggy/wet cupcake. Instead, add more on top for festive decor!
And I forgot to I ask, is one or the other clearly your favorite now between those two options? They both look amazing!
Can you believe that I don’t have even one cupcake recipe on my site? Although I love them, my frosting skills need some work! These cuties look gorgeous, Ashley! I love the light flavors from the lemon and raspberry frosting. This just screams summer!
My husband and I loved it..Really delicious!! Thank you!!
Would this recipe work just as well for mini cupcakes?
I am looking to make these as minis. Do you sugggest chopping the raspberries slightly?
im planning on making mini’s- would anything change?
Hi Natalie. You’ll definitely need to adjust the baking time 🙂
I made these and they were absolutely delicious!! Wanted to make them again but we’re now onto blueberry season, just wondering if you think it’d be safe to make the berry swap and keep the recipe the same?
Absolutely!
Do you need to use cake flour or can you also just use regular flour?
Yes, you need cake flour.
Is this recipe adjusted for altitude? If not what changes do you recommend for +5000ft?
Can this be made into a cake?
Hi what piping tip did you use for these cupcakes?
These turned out wonderful! We love them! How do I post a pic?
I made it and it was great! Thank you!
Can you freeze these cupcakes unfrosted?
Yes! 🙂
Hi! I just made these and they taste delicious but they did not rise up like yours did. Did I do something wrong? Also, my raspberries turned pink and mushy. How did you get your raspberries to be so vibrant after baking? Thank you 🙂
Use slightly thawed frozen raspberries, fresh raspberries tend to look less colourful
Tried this today, though I don’t have any lemon extract nor lemon zest ~only lemon juice, it worked out great! My boyfriend really love it! Cake flour does really makes a difference. 🙂 Thank you for this recipe!
When I make the frosting it comes out really runny even after adding an additional cup of powdered sugar. I’m not sure where I’m going wrong. This has happened twice now. It tastes great but I can’t pipe it on my cupcakes. I’m really bummed!
It sounds like your butter may be too soft.
Try to cool your icing before you pipe it the heat from your hands holding the piping bag is melting your icing other wise use a knife and spread it on so your not handling it so much if you cool it to long it will get hard so put a damp cloth over it when you put it in the fridge or seal it with plastic wrap this has helped me or cut down on your liquids or butter just some suggestions
When using frozen rasberries do you still toss them in the flour while they are frozen?
Absolutely heavenly delicious!!! So light and lemony ❤ will make them for my daughter’s first birthday! Thank you for sharing
Hi! Can you tell me why you use a different lemon cupcake base for this recipe than the lemon blackberry frosting one (back in 2014)? I love, love the 2014 lemon cupcake version but would like to try the raspberry in it. Not sure it would hold up well in the previous version as the ingredients and steps differ. Thanks!
These were really good! My daughter wanted raspberry cupcakes with chocolate frosting for her 5th birthday (♀️) so I omitted the lemon because I thought that lemon and chocolate would be a bit strange to a 5 year old. They were fantastic! But even better was the fact that I was able to freeze the leftovers (without frosting of course) and we ate them for breakfast later in the week! They are not too sweet so they are more like muffins when they are not frosted. They reheated beautifully in the microwave for around 40 seconds. I will definitely make these again to freeze and have raspberry muffins for breakfast!
Hi, the cupcakes look lovely ! May I know the tip used for piping this gorgeous sundae like frosting?
Hi. This recipe is exactly what I’ve been looking for. I plan to substitute wild black raspberries for the regular red raspberries. Would you recommend using less whole raspberries considering they are considerably smaller than the ones you buy in the grocery store? They range in size from about 1/3 to 1/8 the size of a regular raspberry.
I don’t have time to ice cup cakes, or even a round stacked cake. I am at a loss for some other recipe, however I do have all of the ingredients for this lemon raspberry cake. May I create a 9 X 13 cake using this same recipe?
All I can say is wow ! Not only did these come out beautifully I also for some reason enough batter to make 24 cupcakes and a cake! Maybe my conversions to UK were out, but bonus!
How long do you recommend leaving the butter and cream cheese out to get them soft enough, but also not too so soft so we are keeping the frosting firm and thick enough to pipe?
I made these and they turned out well. However I had so much more batter left over after 24 cupcakes.
Do you use all purpose cake flour or self rising cake flour?
Can we replace the sour cream with something else?
Greek yogurt! I’ve used sour cream In place of Greek yogurt And vice versa, does not make a difference in taste. Sour cream is really to create moist cake 🙂
Hey! I’m so excited to make these! Also just an FYI I was looking online and I came across a familiar product to yours. It appears that they used your images which is SUPER UNCOOL. Just thought you should know. Not sure if you’re able to report it.
https://yummy.co.ke/lemon-raspberry-cupcakes/
I ALWAYS have a hard time with my cream cheese frosting. It Always falls no matter what I do. Even with this recipe after I added 1.5 more cups of powdered sugar. Tips??
I’ve made your Lemon-Raspberry cake recipe before, and it was amazing!! I see this recipe is VERY similar. Is there any difference in taste & moisture? Contemplating whether to try this for cupcakes OR to use just the cake recipe to make cupcakes
For the frosting powder sugar 4 1/2CUP wasnt too much??
Can we reduce?
I made these yesterday, and OMG so so good. Possibly some of the best cupcakes I have ever made and I bake for a living! Even my sister said it’s the best she has tasted and I’m craving some more but they are all gone! thank you SO much
Can these be frozen?
i think i did something wrong because i ended up with 42 cupcakes after making this recipe they look fine, they cooked fine and i tried a bit and it tastes fine too, i just ended up with 42 instead of 24
Please help! How much butter for the batter? It states beat butter, vanilla, lemon, etc. but I don’t see measurement listed in ingredients. Thank you!
Nvm. I found it! It was listed first above ad. Sorry! Making for my daughter’s birthday
Hi
Do you think these cupcakes would freeze well for about a week?
Thanks
Thank you so much for this recipe, first time i made this it’s turn to good my cupcakes, soon i will make it again for my friends tennis players. We will eat it and burn it.
Love it! So happy to hear that!
Could it just use butter for the frosting? I can’t use cream cheese for this friend. Thanks!
can I omit raspberries?
do you have a lemon cupcakes recipe with cske flour?
2nd time I make recipe but the icing is too runny
love the flavor and texture
I’m not a good baker but these turned out perfectly! Very yummy and the frosting is to die for! Recipe was easy to follow