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Celebrate the flavors of spring with these bold, bright and tangy Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes, a delightful dessert recipe perfect for warmer days!
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Ahh… Spring is here and there is so much to be thankful for and so much to celebrate! From breathtaking spring weather and stunning spring flowers, to the promise of hope and new life that this changing of the seasons brings, let’s all just give a huge shout out for spring!!
There are also so many spring holidays and special occasions to look forward to this time of year. From birthdays and anniversaries, to Easter, Earth Day, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day – I truly look forward to this time of year.
Another special occasion we celebrate every spring here at Kitchen Concoctions is our website anniversary! It has been a joy to share our favorite tried and true recipes and celebrate our love of Texas grown ingredients and one-of-a-kind flavors with the world over the years.
I am so grateful that each of you keep showing up, be kind and supporting this tiny website on the internet. Each comment, like, share, star rating and email means the world to us!
Since I love celebrating the seasons, holidays, special occasions and everyday life, of course every year I have to share some sort of cake or special dessert recipe around this time in honor of our website anniversary.
This year’s cake recipe is these easy Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes. These cupcakes are insanely good (and dare I say it – moist!) and are packed with tart, lemony flavor with the perfect balance of a sweet and creamy raspberry cream cheese frosting.
Not only are these lemon cupcakes with raspberry frosting a delightful springtime dessert, they are extremely easy to whip up by taking a few shortcuts in the kitchen- like using a box cake mix and raspberry jam.
Whether you are celebrating this gorgeous season, a special birthday or anniversary, or simply celebrating the everyday moments of life, I hope you choose to make these easy Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes!
Helpful Tips and Information:
How do you make lemon cupcakes from scratch?
Today’s dessert recipe is for Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes with box cake mix. While I love making cakes and cupcakes from scratch, sometimes in a pinch, doctoring a cake mix is the way to go.
With that said, I have a fabulous recipe for Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes that makes lemon cupcakes from scratch. If you would like to make these Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes from scratch, consider using that homemade lemon cupcake recipe with my Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting recipe listed below.
How do you make raspberry frosting from scratch?
Over the years I have made a TON of flavored frosting recipes. One time saving trick I have learned when making fruit flavored frostings is to use jam or preserves instead of fresh or frozen fruit.
This is due to the fact that fruit contains a lot of water and if you try to mix fresh or thawed frozen fruit into the other frosting ingredients, then your buttercream frosting may “break” or look curdled. To prevent the frosting from curdling, you would need to cook down the fruit and let it cool before adding it to your frosting.
Or, since jam uses fruit that has already been cooked down into a “gel” it will incorporate perfectly into a frosting and saves a lot of time from you cooking it down yourself.
With that being said, if you would like to make my Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting recipe using fresh raspberries, please see my recipe for Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes, where I make blueberry frosting from scratch using fresh blueberries and a stovetop cooking method to create a blueberry sauce that then gets stirred into the frosting. This same method would work if you would like to use fresh raspberries to make this Raspberry Frosting.
Do cupcakes with cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated?
Yes, you should always refrigerate cakes, cupcakes, or cookies decorated with cream cheese frosting. To serve, simply take the cake, cookies, cupcakes, etc. out of the refrigerator 30-60 minutes before serving to allow the cupcakes to come to room temperature, if desired. Personally, I don’t mind these cupcakes served chilled!
If you like this Lemon Raspberry Cupcake recipe, then you will love these other lemon desserts:
Lemon Ricotta Cake with Blueberries – looking for a light and lemony summer recipe? This lemon ricotta cake with blueberries is an easy version of a classic Italian dessert!
The Best Lemon Bars – looking for a light and luscious spring or summer dessert? I’ve made this recipe for the best lemon bars for many occasions and they are always a hit!
Citrus Butter Cookies – Soft and buttery cookies with a hint of fresh citrus flavor.
Lemon Berry Tea Cookies – Buttery lemon cookies with a raspberry jam filling and a drizzle of a sweet lemon glaze.
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Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
Celebrate the flavors of spring with these bold, bright and
tangy Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes, a delightful dessert recipe perfect for warmer days!
Ingredients
- Lemon Cupcakes:
- 1/4 cup 1% milk
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box lemon cake mix
- 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
- 1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable, canola or corn oil
- --
- Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4-5 tablespoons raspberry jam
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 (6-ounce) container fresh raspberries, for garnish
Instructions
- For Lemon Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees F and line muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, stir together milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cake and pudding mixes, yogurt, eggs, oil and milk mixture, whisking until well combined.
- Using an ice cream scoop or large cookie scoop, divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin pan, filling each cupcake cavity approximately 2/3 of the way full.
- Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow cupcakes to cool in the muffin pan for 4-5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely before topping with frosting.
- For Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a large bowl, using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed, for 1-2 minutes, or until smooth and creamy.
- Add 4-5 tablespoons raspberry jam (adjust the amount depending on how dark/flavorful you want your frosting to be), and beat until combined.
- Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
- Add additional raspberry jam or powdered sugar, if needed, to reach desired consistency.
- Frost cooled cupcakes with prepared frosting and garnish with 1-2 fresh raspberries.
Notes
*PLEASE SEE THE "HELPFUL TIPS AND INFORMATION" SECTION ABOVE FOR ADDITIONAL RECIPE NOTES.
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