These Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes are soft and fluffy clouds that are the perfect marriage of sweet and tang. The cake of these beauties contains both lemon juice and zest, as does the frosting. If that wasn't enough, these eggless cupcakes are then drizzled with a beautiful lemon glaze. Best yet, they're also gluten free, nut free and can easily be vegan!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 12 cup regular size cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
Wash and dry all 6 lemons. Take a zester and zest 3 lemons. Put the zest in a little bowl and cover with plastic wrap so it doesn't get crunchy. Set aside.
Take 3 lemons, cut them in half and juice them. Make sure to remove any seeds if they get in the juice. Set aside. There should be about 6 tablespoons of juice. If there isn't enough, juice another lemon.
In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.Once combined, whisk in the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, using a spoon, mix together the 4 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch with 6 tablespoons of water until thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter or vegan baking stick and the sugar until it is soft and creamy. About 2-3 minutes.
Slowly beat the cornstarch water mixture into the creamed butter and sugar. With the mixer still on low speed, mix in the sour cream, vanilla, oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon lemon zest. The mixture will look pale yellow chunky. That's normal.
Slowly mix in the gluten free flour mixture a little at a time until all combined.
Slowly pour the milk into the batter while the mixture is on low speed. Mix until just combined.Once it is combined, turn off the mixer and use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl. You don’t want to over mix this. Just make sure everything is fully combined. The batter will be thin.
Use an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake tins ¾ way to the top. Smooth the tops with a small knife. There should be enough batter for 14 cupcakes.You do not want to overfill the cupcakes. This will result in them spill out of the top and not baking evenly inside.
Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes are golden brown, spring back at you when carefully touched or when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.Let the cupcakes cool almost completely in the pan before trying to remove them.
Make the Lemon Buttercream Frosting
In the large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the butter or vegan baking stick until smooth and creamy. About 2 minutes.
With the mixer on very low speed, slowly add in the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 1.5 teaspoons lemon zest. Beat until combined.
While the mixer is on, slowly add in the water a little at a time until you get the desired consistency. You may not need to use all the water. You want the frosting to be soft enough to pipe yet still be able to hold its shape.
Decorate the Cupcakes
If you have piping bags, pipe the lemon buttercream frosting on top of each cooled cupcake.If you don’t have piping bags, put a thin layer of frosting on top of each cupcake.
If you frosted the cupcakes by hand, pop the cupcakes in the fridge for 15 minutes to let that thin layer harden before frosting them completely. This is your crumb layer so that when you frost the tops of the cupcakes, the crumbs don't get all over the frosting.If you have a piping bag, you don’t need the crumb layer or this step.
Combine all the glaze ingredients (confectioners' sugar, water, ½ tablespoon lemon juice, ½ teaspoon lemon zest and 2 pinches of turmeric) in a small bowl and whisk until combined and smooth.The turmeric is to make the drizzle yellow and to stand out from the frosting. Feel free to omit it but keep in mind the drizzle will be the same color as the frosting.
Drizzle the lemon glaze on top of the lemon buttercream frosting. Let the glaze harden.
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Notes
Vegan: Use a dairy free gluten free flour, vegan sugar, vegan baking sticks, non dairy milk, vegan sour cream, vegan lemon buttercream frosting.All Purpose Flour: I cannot test this due to celiac disease, but use 1 ¼ cups packed AP flour (210 grams).Storing: Store the cupcakes in an airtight container or wrapped in foil in the fridge for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for 30 days. Let come to room temperature prior to eating. Nutrition: The info below is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.