Lemon Blackberry Cupcakes have a light fluffy lemon cupcakes with a rich and sweet blackberry buttercream frosting. Great for parties and bridal showers!
Lemon Blackberry Cupcakes
I was planning my sister's Tea Party Bridal Shower recently, and in order to cut costs, we decided to try to make most of the food instead of catering it. I needed an elegant cake recipe, but one that was easy enough for me to actually pull off. I found this Lemon Cupcake recipe with Blackberry Buttercream from Ashley over at Baker by Nature, and it truly is amazing!
These Lemon Blackberry Cupcakes are a light lemon cupcake topped with a rich decadent blackberry buttercream frosting. Lemon blackberry cupcakes are so perfect for a special occasion! The colors from the lemons and blackberries make these cupcakes beautiful without any effort at all!
Lemon Blackberry Cupcakes Recipe
Lemon Blackberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes
- 4 lemons freshly zested (about 2-3 tablespoons)
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup 1 stick butter, melted
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large egg whites
Blackberry Buttercream
- 1 cup blackberries
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon milk or cream
Instructions
Lemon Cupcakes
- In a large mixing bowl, add lemon zest and sugar. Combine them by rubbing it together between your fingers. The sugar will look slightly fluffy when you're done, and you shouldn't see any large chunks of lemon zest.
- Add the melted butter to the sugar mixture. Cream mixture until fluffy and combined.
- Sift together flour and baking powder, and add to the sugar mixture, beating until combined.
- In a separate bowl, add milk, sour cream, vanilla, and egg whites. Whisk together.
- Add the milk mixture to the flour and sugar mixture, and beat at medium speed, just until combined. Mixing too much will cause the cupcakes to be too firm.
- Line a greased muffin tin with cupcake liners. Divide the cupcake batter evenly between 12 molds. (I probably used a quarter to a third cup of batter per cupcake). Bake in a 350° oven for 15-19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the top comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Blackberry Buttercream
- Add blackberries and lemon juice to a small saucepan. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a simmer, stirring often. Your blackberries will become soft enough that they will basically mash themselves while you're mixing. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until you have about ⅓ cup of blackberry puree mixture.
- If you don't want seeds or skins in your buttercream, strain the blackberry puree through a fine mesh strainer at this point. (I did not strain mine, but did run it through a food processor to make sure it was extra smooth) Allow to cool to room temperature
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter and blackberry puree. Beat together with a mixer until mixture is smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar, and beat on medium-high until mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Add your milk or cream and vanilla and beat again to combine. Test your buttercream now. If it's still too thick, continue adding milk or cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until buttercream reaches desired consistency.
- You can frost your cupcakes with the blackberry buttercream as soon as they are completely cooled. You can spread or pipe it on. For the pictures above, I used my Wilton 1M tip.
Did you like this Lemon Blackberry Cupcakes Recipe? Find more on my Cakes & Cupcakes and Desserts boards on Pinterest!
If you liked this Lemon Blackberry Cupcakes Recipe you might also like:
Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
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Sarah R. says
If these taste as good as they look, then you've hit it out of the ballpark! Yum, yum, YUM! Thank you for bringing your latest make to Snickerdoodle Sunday- hope to see you again when the weekend rolls around.
Sarah (Sadie Seasongoods)
Michelle says
Thank you! They really were delicious! We used the lemon cupcake recipe for my sister's bridal shower! And my kids saw me editing the pictures and asked me to make them. Again. Lol
Simply Suzannes at Home says
These look and sounds dreamy!
Have you ever made Blackberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream? It's incredible!! Well worth the butter and effort :0)
Thanks so much for sharing!
Beautiful photos!
Suzanne
Michelle says
Thank you! And no I haven't, but I'll definitely try it out!
Jerusha (@TheDisneyChef) says
These look incredible... I'd make them, but I'd eat every last one of them. LoL!
Michelle says
Lol! That's how most baking goes at my house! I have to have my husband run the rest down to his work, so I don't eat them all!
sweet says
This looks amazing well done with that.
christine says
And picnics, and stuffing faces, and smiles...this recipe also looks like it would be great for all of those! Wow! Delicious!
Michelle says
Haha! Thank you!
Elizabeth says
I just am drooling on my computer keys right now! Oh my. These do look divine. I am featuring them tomorrow at Snickerdoodle. Thank you for sharing and hope to see you again soon!
Despina says
I'm definitely going to try this recipe, as I like lemons in cakes and cupcakes. But I have to find another buttercream recipe since blackberries are not easy to find here in Greece (where I live). Could I use another fruit instead? Could you maybe suggest another buttercream recipe?
Michelle says
I'm sorry, I must admit I'm not overly familiar with the fruit market in Greece, but you can sub the blackberries out with other berries like raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries (make a puree first for strawberries). Or you can just use a plain buttercream recipe. This basic buttercream recipe is the one I use. If you love lemon, you can also add a teaspoon of lemon zest to your plain buttercream for a special treat! 🙂
DeAnna Hurst says
When you say "make a puree first" do you mean put the strawberries in a food processor and then cook them in the lemon juice like you would the blackberries? Just want to be clear.
Michelle says
Yes. You'll still want to reduce them down before adding to the buttercream, but strawberries won't "burst" as easily as other berries, so it would end up being faster to process them first.
DeAnna Hurst says
Got it, thanks!!!
Valerie@Occasionally Crafty says
These are perfect for the season! I'll be featuring you on the Handmade Hangout later today. Thanks for linking up!
Alyssa says
Hi, the ingredients say baking powder but the directions say baking soda. I was wondering which it is?
Michelle says
Definitely baking powder. Just fixed the recipe. Thanks for letting me know!
Ellen says
Just made these for Easter brunch, and they were AMAZING. Really not as difficult as they seemed (total time, prep to eating = 1hr 45 min. Not bad for a first try!) All of my guests loved them and asked when I would be making them again. Huge hit. Thank you!!
Karla says
I don’t know where i went wrong with the cupcakes but they came out extremely dense. frosting was fabulous though.
Kaela says
I made these and they came out extremely dense and firm (I don't feel I over mixed) Do you think subbing half Cake flour would help this issue?
Michelle says
Hm. That may help. The other thing I'm thinking is that sour cream is great in cakes because it keeps them moist, but it can also make them more dense. So maybe taking the sour cream out and subbing milk for it.
I haven't had a dense issue with these, and I've made these quite a few times. But I think I may do some trouble-shooting this week, and whip up a new batch with some substitutions. Because a Spring-y lemon cupcake certainly deserves to be fail-proof light and fluffy!
Brenda says
Your recipes look soooo good!!! I was wondering if you could suggest a strawberry buttercream that would hold up rosettes on a wedding cake. or do you think your cream cheese frosting would.
Deanna Hurst says
Back again. Have you tried the frosting recipe using cranberries? I've never worked with cranberries before and wonder if they cook down like the other berries or if they are harder to reduce down like the strawberries. I want to make a cranberry orange frosting.
Michelle says
I have never made it with cranberries, but I do make my own cranberry sauce during the holidays so I know they can reduce down. They'll handle similarly to tomatoes, firm at first but bursting as they cook before they start to reduce down.
Natalie B. says
The buttercream was going to be the star, but it came out extremely watery and not fit for a cupcake. Is there a particular reason for this?
Michelle says
The only reason I can think of is that the blackberries did not reduce enough. When it's done reducing there should only be 1/3 cup, which isn't much. I hope that helps.
Ismael Ortega says
Those cupcakes look delicious. I was wondering if you have made it as a layered cake instead of cupcakes? If so, does the recipe need to be doubled? What would the baking time be for 9 in. pan? Sorry for all the questions.
Michelle says
I have not, but I think it will work. You will need to double the recipe as this will make about 1 layer in a 9-inch cake pan. And the cook time will probably increase. I'm guessing by about 10 minutes. If you try this, please let us know how it goes!
Tiffany Fox says
I was wondering how much, possibly cup wise, this recipe makes in buttercream? Also about how long does the buttercream last if it's made and then stored?
Michelle says
I haven't measured exactly, but maybe 5ish cups of buttercream. And you can store it in the fridge covered for at least a week.
Camille says
Hello, has anyone doubled or tripled this recipe? Thanks!
Ann Gillis says
I just made these for my daughter's bridal shower and they turned out absolutely fantastic! I'm sure I will use this recipe many more times!
Nicole says
Hi there, have you ever made this as a cake instead? Thx!
Shelly says
This rating is just for the frosting. I halved the recipe but still used a whole cup of blackberries to make the purée - it was incredible! Tasted like a blackberry smoothy on my cupcake. Sooo sooo good.
Dia says
If you don’t have lemon zest. Will it affect the flavor a lot?
Michelle says
Lemon zest adds a ton of lemon flavor without affecting the consistency of the batter, so yes, it will affect the flavor of the cupcakes. They will taste less lemon-y
Cheri says
I made these for my granddaughters first birthday party, and I made three batches, there wasn't any left. Everyone wanted the recipe.