Small Batch Lemon Cupcakes

This easy-to-make Small Batch Lemon Cupcakes recipe gives you six soft and fluffy cupcakes topped with a whipped lemon cream cheese frosting. Flavored with fresh lemon zest, lemon juice, and a little honey, these cupcakes are incredibly delicious!

Reasons to Love These Small Batch Lemon Cupcakes

• Made with fresh lemon zest and lemon juice.
• They're a small batch of 6 cupcakes.
• Soft and fluffy!
• Wonderful to give as a gift to the lemon dessert lovers in your life!
• An easy lemon-honey mixture is brushed over the top of just baked, warm lemon cupcakes—SO GOOD.
• Perfect for a light and refreshing dessert.
• It pairs perfectly with this whipped lemon cream cheese frosting!

I'm excited to share these small batch lemon cupcakes with you today because, next to chocolate, lemon desserts have always been a big favorite of mine! They're refreshing and always packed with that winning combo of sweet and tart in each bite.

Another favorite part about this particular lemon dessert recipe is they're a small batch of six. So you can choose to give them as a sweet gift, share them with your family, or keep them all to yourself!

If you enjoy this small batch lemon cupcakes recipe, you should also check out my Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes, Single Layer Carrot Cake, or my Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies!

Have more ideas for small batch dessert recipes? I would love to hear them! Message me on my Say Hello page, or DM me over on Instagram or Facebook!

Your Ingredients List

Below is the list of ingredients you will need to make these fantastic small batch lemon cupcake recipe!

• All-Purpose Flour. This pantry staple is perfect for this recipe.
• Baking Powder. Leavening agent.
• Salt. It helps to balance out the lemon flavor.
• Unsalted Butter. It's helpful to have this at room temperature for smooth mixing!
• Granulated Sugar. Your typical white granulated sugar can be used here. Organic cane sugar is a good substitute as well.
• Egg. Just one and, like the unsalted butter, this is best at room temperature as well.
• Vanilla Extract. This is an optional ingredient, but it does a nice job of rounding out all the flavors while not stealing the lemons show.
• Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice. Grab 2 medium or 3 small will work fine here. The lemon juice gets divided. 1 ½ tablespoon goes into the cupcake batter, and the remaining tablespoon gets mixed together with the honey.
• Buttermilk. Only a ¼ cup is needed. Whole milk can also be used in its place or homemade buttermilk. Powdered buttermilk is acceptable too.
• Honey. This gets whisked together with the remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Once mixed, it gets brushed over the top of just-baked lemon cupcakes.

I did not test this recipe using any alternative flour, sugars (other than organic cane sugar), or egg substitutes.

Making Homemade Buttermilk

To make the homemade version, you only need regular milk (like 1%, 2%, or fat-free) with 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.

Add the lemon juice to the measuring cup first, then add the milk. Pour it into a small bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes, then—when it's called for in the recipe— add it to the batter. Homemade buttermilk substitute is meant to be used immediately.

You can also use powdered buttermilk which you can find in the baking aisle, usually next to the powdered milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk.

How to Make The Best Lemon Cupcakes

Here is a brief overview of how to make this small batch lemon cupcakes recipe. Detailed instructions, including how to make the whipped lemon cream cheese frosting, can be found in the recipe below!

For the lemon cupcakes, you will need either a hand mixer or a stand mixer. A few mixing bowls, a medium grater, a whisk, and a spatula will come in handy as well!

1. Prep your lemons. I always like to zest and juice my lemons before starting this recipe. It's not a huge time saver, but it keeps things moving as you bake. It's less time your batter is sitting too. I suggest using this grater from Microplane for the lemon zest.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients. This is a super simple step and ensures all the dry ingredients have been mixed well together before they're added to the wet batter. You whisk the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. This is the part where you'll need the hand mixer or stand mixer. Beat the unsalted butter and granulated sugar together first. Then you will add in the egg and vanilla extract.
4. Blend it all together. To the wet ingredients, you will add the whisked dry ingredients, fresh lemon zest, 1 ½ tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and buttermilk. Do NOT over-mix the lemon cupcake batter. It should be light in color and easily scoopable into the liners.
5. Evenly fill the cupcake liners. Fill them about ⅔ or a little over halfway full.
6. Bake the cupcakes. Recommended baking times for this small batch lemon cupcakes recipe is 350ºF for 18-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. They'll have a relatively flat top to them and will smell terrific!
7. Make the lemon honey mixture. With about 5-10 minutes left of baking, mix the lemon and honey together with a whisk in a small mixing bowl. Mix it together until it's uniform in color.
8. Brush the mixture over the warm cupcakes. When your lemon cupcakes are done baking, brush the mixture over the top. Use either a pastry brush or a silicone brush. The mixture will then absorb into the warm cupcakes.
9. Cool completely. Let them cool in the cupcake tin first for about 10 minutes. Then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Whether you are making them the same day or for a day or 2 later, it's important to let them cool completely before adding the frosting.

Essential Cupcake Tools

Additional Baking Tips Before Starting

• The recipe times noted are for both the lemon cupcakes and the lemon cream cheese frosting.
• Ovens are like snowflakes; no two are alike. Start checking the doneness of your cupcakes at the earliest recommended baking time. Using an oven thermometer is also good to ensure your oven is calibrated to the correct temperature.
• There is an added cooling time of 30 minutes for the cupcakes.
• It's best to place your cupcake liners in the 2 middle sections of your cupcake tin.
• Do not over-mix this lemon cupcake batter.
• Use either a cookie scoop, a large measuring glass, or a large and small spoon to add the cupcake batter.
• Fill the cupcakes ⅔ full. When baked, they should be flat on top and baked right up to the top of the liner.
• Standard cupcake liners were used with this recipe.
• Frosted cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They can be enjoyed straight from the refrigerator or at room temperature (let sit for 10-15 minutes before eating).