These lemon raspberry cupcakes are fluffy, moist, and filled with bright, fresh flavor. Start with tender lemon cupcakes that have a soft crumb and a clean lemon taste, then top them with a creamy raspberry buttercream made from real raspberries for a showstopping combination. 
This post was updated March 30, 2022 with new photos & recipe tips
Lemon and raspberry are a classic pairing. The juicy berries balance the lemon’s brightness and the two flavors together feel fresh and celebratory. The cupcakes themselves are made from scratch, producing a tender, moist crumb and a lemon flavor that’s bright without being sharp. The raspberry frosting uses fresh or frozen berries and is reduced so it contributes an authentic berry flavor without making the buttercream runny.
For the Lemon Cupcakes
These cupcakes are entirely from scratch. Key points for great flavor and texture:
- Real butter: Provides rich flavor and ensures the cupcakes don’t taste greasy.
- Lemon zest and fresh lemon juice: Use zest and freshly squeezed juice for bright citrus notes. Avoid bottled lemon juice.
- Milk and sour cream: The combination keeps the cupcakes moist but not dense; sour cream adds tenderness while milk lightens the batter.
For the Raspberry Frosting
The frosting is made with real raspberries so it tastes fresh rather than artificial. Because raspberries contain a lot of water, the puree must be sieved to remove seeds and then reduced on the stove until it becomes thick like jam. Reducing the puree concentrates the flavor and removes excess liquid—this step is essential to avoid a watery or separated buttercream. The image below shows the puree before and after reduction. 
After the reduced raspberry jam cools completely, make the frosting like a standard American buttercream: beat softened butter until fluffy, add powdered sugar, then mix in the cooled raspberry reduction and a little cream as needed to reach the right consistency.
Baking Tips & Tricks
- Bring butter, eggs, milk and sour cream to room temperature before mixing to ensure a smooth batter and avoid overmixing, which can make cupcakes tough.
- Use 2–3 lemons, zest first then juice. Bottled lemon juice can be overly sour for baking.
- If you want less frosting than pictured (for example, to spread with a knife), halve the frosting recipe.
- Reduce the raspberry puree until it’s about one-quarter of the original volume and thick like jam. If it isn’t reduced enough the frosting will be thin.
- Cool the reduced puree completely before adding to the buttercream. Warm puree will melt the butter and thin the frosting.
- You can reduce the puree a day ahead: cool it and store airtight in the fridge for up to 48 hours.
Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
Fluffy lemon cupcakes topped with creamy raspberry buttercream made from real raspberries.
Prep: 1 hr | Cook: 16 mins | Cooling: 30 mins | Total: 2 hrs 30 mins | Servings: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1/4 cup milk, room temperature
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Raspberry Frosting
- 6 oz raspberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3–4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp heavy cream, as needed
Instructions
Lemon Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin tin with paper liners. This yields about 12–14 cupcakes.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and lemon zest until fluffy.
- Add vanilla and beat in eggs one at a time.
- Whisk milk and sour cream together in a measuring cup or small bowl.
- Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk/sour cream to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.
- Turn off the mixer and gently fold in the lemon juice.
- Fill liners about 2/3 to 3/4 full and bake 16–18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
Raspberry Frosting
- Puree raspberries in a blender or food processor.
- Press the puree through a sieve to remove seeds.
- Cook the seedless puree in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring, and bring to a boil.
- Boil 15–20 minutes or until reduced to about one-quarter of the original volume and thick like jam.
- Remove from heat and chill the reduced puree until fully cold.
- Beat the butter until fluffy. On low speed, beat in 2 cups powdered sugar.
- Add 2–3 tablespoons of the cold raspberry reduction and the salt, then continue to add the remaining powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until you reach desired sweetness and consistency. Add a little cream if needed.
- Pipe or spread the frosting onto cooled cupcakes (a 1M tip works well for the pictured look).
Notes
- Lemons: Use 2 large or 3 smaller lemons. Zest first, then juice.
- Frosting: The recipe yields enough buttercream for generously piped cupcakes. Halve the frosting if you prefer a thin layer.
- Make ahead: Cupcakes can be baked a day ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Reduce and cool the raspberry puree a day ahead and refrigerate in an airtight container. Make the frosting on the day you’ll serve the cupcakes.
- Storage: Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature up to 12 hours (if not warm). Refrigerate leftovers up to 3 days.
- Nutrition: Nutrition estimates are approximate and based on 1 cupcake with frosting, assuming 12 cupcakes total and all frosting used.
Nutrition
Calories: 480 kcal; Carbohydrates: 62 g; Protein: 3 g; Fat: 26 g; Saturated Fat: 16 g; Sugar: 47 g. (Values are estimates.)
If you enjoy these lemon raspberry cupcakes, try other fresh dessert recipes and fruit buttercreams for more seasonal flavors.