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    Home » Budget Recipes

    Easy Lemon Cupcakes Recipe

    Published: May 5, 2016 · Modified: Jul 20, 2021 by Jessica Fisher

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    These Easy Lemon Cupcakes may start with a box, but they get zing and zip from yogurt and lemon added to the mix. They are simple and delicious!

    Easy Lemon Cupcakes | Life as Mom this …

    I confess. I’m not the best plain from-scratch cake baker. I can do carrot cake and zucchini cake and banana cake like nobody’s business. Even pumpkin cake. But cakes that don’t have added fruit or veg in them. Somehow that’s hard for me.

    I’m hoping to reform my ways soon, now that I have this book, but in the meantime, my family prefers it when I buy a box. True story.

    I call it cake cheating.

    But, over the years, I’ve realized that doctoring up a cake mix makes me feel a little better. I can add butter, yogurt, sour cream, and extra flavorings to elevate a regular old cake mix and feel like I’m putting a little more effort into the experience.

    These Easy Lemon Cupcakes may start with a box, but they get all dressed up with yogurt and lemon zest. Take them over the top with some of this Lemon Buttercream Frosting. Yum!

    Easy Lemon Cupcakes | Life as Mom
    Lemon Buttercream Frosting

    We are almost on the eve of the FishMama Trifecta. Mother’s Day, our anniversary and my birthday, fall in a 19-day period this year, with a kid birthday in the middle of it. June brings two more kid birthdays and Father’s Day, so you can imagine that we’ll be eating a fair amount of cake!

    Our May Birthday Boy has already requested these easy lemon cupcakes — baked into cake form. If you want to do the same, just adjust the baking time, according to the directions on your cake mix.

    These tools make this recipe EASY:

    • USA muffin tins – these pans are AMAZING!
    • unbleached parchment muffin papers – LOVE these.
    • microplane zester – a wonder. I’ve had mine for 15 years!
     Easy Lemon Cupcakes
    close up of lemon Cupcake
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    5 from 2 votes

    Easy Lemon Cupcakes

    These Easy Lemon Cupcakes may start with a box, but they get zing and zip from yogurt and lemon added to the mix. They are simple and delicious!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time25 mins
    Total Time35 mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 24 cupcakes
    Calories: 148kcal
    Author: Jessica Fisher

    Ingredients

    • 1 package yellow cake mix
    • 1 cup plain yogurt
    • ½ cup water
    • ½ cup neutral oil
    • 3 egg
    • 1 lemon, zested
    • 1-2 batches Lemon Buttercream Frosting optional
    US Customary – Metric

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350 °. Line 2 muffin pans with cupcake papers.
    • Combine the cake mix, yogurt, water, oil, eggs, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Blend 2 minutes with an electric mixer until smooth.
    • Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake papers. Bake according to package directions. Cool completely on a rack.
    • Frost cooled cupcakes with lemon buttercream, if desired.

    Notes

    Store cooled cupcakes, unfrosted, covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. Frosted cupcakes should be stored in the fridge – bring back to room temperature before serving

    Nutrition

    Calories: 148kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 158mg | Potassium: 27mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Tag Me Today!Mention @goodcheapeatsblog or tag #goodcheapeats!

    Make these cupcakes extra fun with these Mother’s Day Cake Toppers!

    Easy Lemon Cupcakes | Life as Mom
    « Lemon Buttercream Frosting
    Shrimp Stir Fry with Vegetables »
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Amber

      May 11, 2016 at 2:02 pm

      Would full fat yogurt work in this recipe?

      Reply
      • Jessica Fisher

        May 11, 2016 at 8:10 pm

        Definitely.

        Reply
    2. Diana

      May 06, 2016 at 1:35 pm

      The only cake I can do from scratch is the Wacky Cake (it goes by a million names) that is basically a glorified muffin. It uses baking soda and vinegar as the leavener and oil for the fat, so there’s no creaming or folding in egg whites.

      It turns out the best if I used bleached flour (I KNOW! but the protein content is actually less (or something) so it doesn’t bake up as tough. look it up. cake flour would be even better.) and put the flour and cocoa through a fine mesh strainer (in lieu of a sifter). Then you just stir in the sugar, poke holes for the liquids, and stir it up. It’s perfect for people with dairy and egg sensitivities too 🙂

      Your lemon cake sounds just perfect for spring! I bet the yogurt makes it especially refreshing 🙂

      Reply
      • Jessica Fisher

        June 18, 2016 at 12:00 pm

        Did not know that the flour mattered in a wacky cake. Interesting.

        Reply
    3. Jennifer

      May 06, 2016 at 10:29 am

      I doctor cake mixes too. Have just never put the effort into making good “from scratch” cakes. It is an entirely different skill than muffin/quick breads, yeast breads, etc. My compromise is making the icing. That fluffy old fashioned flour frosting that acts like whipped cream, or the cooked fudge icing. Come to think of it, neither of those use powdered sugar. Small children and a house outside of town may have influenced my tastes : ) One of my favorites is the deep dark fudgy cooked icing that starts like pudding. Yum… I may need to bake something.

      Reply
      • Diana

        May 06, 2016 at 1:32 pm

        Are you talking about that frosting where you cook milk and flour and beat butter (and some other things) into it? That stuff is amazing on a chocolate cake! We call it “whipped cream icing” and it’s the regular pick for birthday cakes in my mom’s house 🙂 I’ve never met anyone else who has had that recipe! And your cooked icing that starts like pudding sounds incredible too.

        Reply
        • Jennifer

          May 06, 2016 at 1:50 pm

          That is the one! My grandma shared the recipe a long time ago. Her mom used it to top carrot cake. It is the official birthday cake topping. The chocolate pudding-y icing is its polar opposite in a lot of ways, but it is another one that isn’t TOO terribly sweet and doesn’t need powdered sugar. http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/glossyfrosting.htm

        • Diana

          May 07, 2016 at 12:49 pm

          OH. MY. I have to make that, and soon 🙂 Thanks for sharing! Sounds so easy and I love that it goes on a warm cake too. Yum.

          Funny–my grandma shared it with my mom (it must be a previous generation thing?), and her recipe included the instructions to “cream good.” Now we always joke, “Did you cream it good enough?!”

      • Jessica Fisher

        June 18, 2016 at 11:58 am

        I recently read an article about the different kinds of buttercream. I’m thinking yours falls under “ermine frosting” http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/12/buttercreams-frosting-how-to-make-the-best-buttercream-icing-cupcakes-swiss-buttercream-italian-german-styles.html

        Reply

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