Lemon drizzle cupcakes that are easy to make and absolutely jam-packed with flavour.
Rather than creating a simple lemon sponge I’d thought I’d go one step further and turn them into lemon drizzle cakes. The addition of the drizzle makes the cakes beautifully moist and jam-packed full of flavour from the lemon juice in the drizzle.
As with the vanilla cupcakes they are based on, these lemon drizzle cupcakes are very simple to make. They use an all-in-one sponge so its simply a case of measuring out the ingredients, chucking them all into a big bowl and mixing them up. The simplicity of this recipe also means it’s perfect if you want to bake them with kids (and my kids absolutely love eating them too!).
What! No icing?
As you’ve probably all realised, I’m a big fan of adding a pretty swirl of buttercream onto my cupcakes. However, on these lemon drizzle cupcakes it’s just a waste.
It may mean that they’re not the most beautiful of cakes, but it’s definitely a case of substance over style. The syrup drizzled over the top of the cakes ensures they’re perfectly moist and bursting with lemon flavour. It also gives the top a little bit of a crunch which adds a lovely extra texture to the soft cake.
If you’d like to add a little decoration I have a couple of ideas that’ll work really well…
- Make a simple icing by mixing 1 tsp of cold water or lemon juice with 40g of icing sugar. You can then drizzle this over the top. I like to use a fork to do this as I did for my Spicy Chai Tea and Cranberry Iced Loaf.
- Add a couple of edible flowers to the top of each cake. Purple ones, such as pansies, would look fantastic against the yellow of the cake.
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Easy Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 110 g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 medium eggs
- 110 g soft margarine or butter
- 110 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp milk
For the drizzle
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 60 g caster sugar
Extras
- 8 cupcake cases
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan. Line a muffin tin with 8 cupcakes cases.
- Finely grate the zest of one lemon. Set the lemon aside to use the juice later for the drizzle.
- Put all of the cake ingredients into a large bowl (grated lemon zest, 110g self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 medium eggs, 110g soft margarine, 110g caster sugar, 1 tsp milk). Beat on a low speed (either using an electric mixer or by hand) until all of the ingredients are fully combined.
- Divide the mixture equally between the eight cupcake cases.
- Bake your cakes for 18-20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. While the cakes are in the oven prepare the lemon drizzle by simply mixing together the juice of your lemon with the caster sugar (60g). Once your cakes are cooked remove them from the oven and immediately pour over the drizzle. I find it easiest to brush the drizzle onto the cakes with a pastry brush, going over each cake twice so it has a really good coating. Leave the cakes to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool fully.
- Enjoy!
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Free From/Suitable For…
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Soya-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Lupin-Free
Pin This Recipe For Later
Chanique Adesina says
3 July 2019 at 9:18 pmLight, fluffy and not too sweet. Will 100% make this again. Thanks for the awesome recipe
Jo says
23 June 2019 at 3:32 pmThese are delicious and much appreciated by my son who doesn’t like buttercream but loves lemon drizzle cake. Speedy to make and your timings are perfect for my oven. I’m just getting used to a fan oven after 40 years of cooking with gas.
sally greenslade says
14 June 2019 at 10:09 amthis is the quickest and easiest recipe for lemon drizzle cupcakes i’ve tried and i have tried loads of different recipes.The results are perfect every time and evrybodyin my family . loves them.
Debbie Parker says
25 April 2019 at 9:35 amMade these cakes in small silicone bundt tins and they turned out brilliant. You don’t have to use all of the drizzle mix! I am now selling them to a local cafe!
iris says
17 April 2019 at 3:35 pmthey where great all though i made a little too much drizzle so it got a bit soggy but they where so amazing, and i love lemon so its my perfect desert
Louise says
3 April 2019 at 2:50 pmWould it be ok to just double the quantities in the recipe for double the amount of the cupcakes
Charlotte Oates says
3 April 2019 at 2:57 pmYes, no problem at all. If you can, try and get them all on one shelf in the oven to ensure they cook evenly.
Laura Wiseman says
26 March 2019 at 3:48 pmI’ve been making lemon drizzle cake for years, and wanted to try cupcakes. They didn’t look that pretty, seemed to have dropped in the middle, however, I understand that they were very light and really delicious. So must make again.
Charlotte Oates says
26 March 2019 at 6:00 pmThe most likely cause of the dip in the middle is too much baking powder. Try adding a little less next time and it should fix the problem.
Kim says
6 March 2019 at 4:21 pmNow made these 3 times. Really light and yummy. Best I’ve ever made
April says
3 February 2019 at 7:01 pmI am not exaggerating when I say these are the best lemon drizzle cakes I have ever made, if not the best cakes ever!
I only had granulated sugar to hand for the drizzle so I just combined with the lemon juice and microwaved for 30seconds, stirred, and then again for 30 seconds, so it formed a more syrup like consistency as is my preference.
The sponge is 10/10 and flavours great. This recipe made 7 large cup-cakes for me, at 140c I ended up cooking for 26mins but my oven is on the slow side!