Lemon drizzle cupcakes that are easy to make and absolutely jam-packed with flavour.
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.
Want to make these cupcakes as a larger cake?
If you fancy making a full-sized lemon drizzle cake then take a look at my lemon drizzle loaf cake recipe. It’s a slightly different recipe to these cupcakes (I’ve explained all about why in the post), but it gives the same delicious result – a fluffy, moist lemon sponge with the zing of lemon drizzle.
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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
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
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
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Anita pitman says
Best Lemon drizzle recipe I have tried, so light , fluffy and delish
Chanique Adesina says
Light, fluffy and not too sweet. Will 100% make this again. Thanks for the awesome recipe
Jo says
These 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
this 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
Made 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
they 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
Would it be ok to just double the quantities in the recipe for double the amount of the cupcakes
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, 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
I’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
The 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
Now made these 3 times. Really light and yummy. Best I’ve ever made
April says
I 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!
Cat says
Hi, I’m pretty sure the oven temp you have on the recipe is wrong. I cooked them that 160 (gas mark 3) for 20mins and they were no where near done. Cooked 4 more on gas mark 4 and they cooked in 20 mins and turned out so much better. I don’t know any cupcake recipe that you put at 160 c.
Charlotte Oates says
The oven temperature is right for my oven and I use the same temperature for most of my sponge cakes in various flavours. Annoyingly oven temperatures vary from oven to oven so it may be that yours runs a little cooler than mine. You’re absolutely right in saying that most recipes call for a slightly higher temperature. However, I’ve found that I get a lighter, softer sponge when I use the lower temperature which is why I do it.
Luisa says
Really delicious recipe. The cupcakes are light and fluffy and taste really good. However, even after greasing my cupcake tin, they still get a little stuck in them and often break. This could be down to them being so light and airy.
Charlotte Oates says
It’s quite a soft sponge and as it’s cooked at a lower temperature than some cakes the edges don’t set as hard meaning they can stick. For these, I’d definitely recommend using cupcake cases rather than cooking them directly in the tin.
Annette says
Followed the recipe exactly but the mixture overflowed whilst cooking so should have used at least 10 cases and they took 30 minutes to cook in 140 fan?
If I do them again I won’t use baking powder and sr flour as I think this was the problem as they rose too much and had a bubbled surface. Just hoping they taste ok
Claire Coetzee says
I made these today and they taste delicious. However, the middle sank and they look terrible! What do you think I did wrong? I can never get cupcakes right, they always sink. I have tried so many recipes.
Charlotte Oates says
It could be many things.
If it always happens then my suspicion is that perhaps your oven runs a little cooler than others (sadly there’s a lot of variation between ovens), meaning they’re not quite done in the middle when they should be and then collapse. You can check your oven temperature using an oven thermometer (they’re about £5 on Amazon). Another possibility that you’re adding too much baking powder (although I’d be surprised if it’s this if it happens with all recipes you try as I would have thought that by luck one would have just the right amount for you. When using baking powder make sure you use a level measure (whatever it may be in the recipe) and use measuring teaspoons rather than the sort you’d use for a cup of tea, that way you know you’re using just the right amount. Another possibility is that you’re over-beating your mixture. You should mix it on a slow speed until the ingredients are just combined. If you carry on mixing it you might add a bit too much air which will then cause the cause to rise a lot (too much) in the oven and then because it’s got lots of air bubbles collapses when it’s done.
Dems Banjo says
This is creative! They looks so amazing, I am going to try it out for my family this week and i am very sure we ll all enjoy it.
Carron says
Could this be put into a tin to make a sponge cake with instead of cupcakes?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, but you’d need less drizzle (as the cake will be deeper and so has less surface area on the top). The easiest way I can suggest to adapt it is to take a look at my vanilla sponge cake recipe, take out the vanilla extract and substitute in the lemon zest. There’s a guide to the ingredients needed to make it in whatever size you like.
Sandy says
I accidently used 2 table spoons of milk in the vanilla sponge cake but it was very moist and soft and delicious. If I am about to make a cake of 4 layers will that be a problem (will the cake collapse)
Charlotte Oates says
It should be absolutely fine made into four layers.
Jules says
Fantastic recipe. Both adults & kids love these. I added blackberries to recipe…turned out brilliant. Best cakes made in a long time!!! My future son-in-law says I make really good cakes but these are the best. Well done Charlotte
Charlotte Oates says
I’mn so glad you enjoyed them. I love the idea of adding blackberries. I’ve been meaning to try them with added blueberries for a while but not I’ve quite gotten around to it yet.
Lydia Sanz says
I made these at the weekend, so easy to make and turned out great!
Charlotte Oates says
Fantastic, I’m glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
I love a lemon-drizzle! Delicious Charlotte x
Charlotte Oates says
Who doesn’t!
Cindy says
I like Lemon and put it into cake is very creative!
Sean Mahan says
They look so delicious, damn. So excited to make them this weekend!