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Lemon Squares
Dena Kleiman, Susan Mahnke Peery
2029 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,029
1 hour
Published Feb. 8, 2024
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Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Prepare the cupcakes: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl), combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine. Add the butter and mix on low until the mixture is sandy and the butter is evenly distributed.
In a large measuring cup, whisk to combine the buttermilk, eggs, oil and 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract.
Add half of the buttermilk mixture to the bowl of the mixer and mix on low until incorporated, then add the second half of the mixture and mix on low until well combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then turn the mixer up to medium speed and mix for 30 seconds, until the mixture is smooth. The batter will be loose.
Divide the mixture among the prepared liners. (They will be about halfway full.) Bake the cupcakes for 18 to 20 minutes until just cooked through with little to no browning on top. Set the cupcakes in the pans on cooling racks for 5 minutes, then gently remove them from the pans and set them on the rack to cool completely before frosting.
While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar and salt and mix on low speed until the sugar is moistened. Turn the mixer to medium-high and stream in the vanilla, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon heavy cream. Mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, adding more cream as needed to make a smooth and easily spreadable frosting.
Frost the cupcakes, top with sprinkles if desired, and serve. The cupcakes and frosting can be made and stored separately one day ahead of time, covered, at room temperature.
This is the best frosting I’ve ever tasted. The lemon juice is a revelation. I don’t know why it never occurred to me to add it before. The frosting doesn’t taste like lemon; the acidity just brightens the flavors and makes everything taste better. And, unlike most frosting recipes, the author didn’t forget salt. I’ll confess I didn’t yet make the cupcakes but as a standalone the frosting is great.
Very easy recipe! Was able to whip up quickly without too many dishes and the cake is light and airy. I added more vanilla to the icing and it was wonderful!
These are easy and pretty good. Cooked perfectly in 18 minutes though I worried a bit because they weren’t brown at all. The recipe as written made plenty of icing. The lemon juice didn’t seem to add much to the icing. I might try a bit of almond extract next time.
I made these for a friend's birthday; everyone loved them, particularly the icing. Don't let them go beyond 18 minutes; with no brown on top, the crumb is moist and delicious.
A perfect cupcake. Light, airy, easy to make. Don’t mess with the recipe!
These were amazing. Extremely light and airy, and just sweet enough. I used EVOO instead of neutral oil. I’d oh for these from a bakery and the got rave reviews from our party guests!
Excellent recipe - I did 1.5x all the ingredients and had enough for 12 cupcakes and 24 mini cupcakes. Tripled the icing and had plenty to pipe frosting on all the cupcakes) plus extra. These were a hit! Cupcake itself isn’t too sweet which is a plus.
Best cupcake recipe I have ever made. The cakes are light and seem so professional. The icing was perfect and made plenty. My family love them and want me to bake them all the time!
Best cupcakes ever. Used cake flour and filled a few with the frosting, a few with raspberry filling and left a few plain.
The cupcakes were great. Unlike most recipes it does make 12 cupcakes, no more no less. The cupcakes have great flavor not too sweet. I would definilty have less powdered sugar in the frosting next time. It’s a little too sweet, but very good. The lemon juice is a good inclusion, can’t even taste it. Overall, best cupcake recipe I’ve used.
Do the cupcakes, frosted, need to be refrigerated because of the mile (or cream)? Many thanks.
I think next time I’ll do a little more lemon juice and a little more salt in the frosting but both the cupcakes and the frosting were great. I made them as a last minute birthday surprise for my partner and we practically ate the whole batch in a single night between us.
These came out very eggy, almost a custard taste and flat. I won’t make again.
Very sweet icing but cupcakes yummy
The cake itself was not great - dense and eggy. The frosting is to die for though and I will use this again in the future. Wish I had made 1.5x or 2x the recipe though, there wasn’t enough!
These cupcakes were perfect! Just the right texture to be satisfying and yet still light and delicate. This will be my go to recipe. The icing is delicious too and I only needed half of what it called for - personal choice. Brills!!
I thought I filled them half way but they ended up rising more than expected. I’d advise to underfill if you’re on the fence and wanting them to be uniform and make 24.
Excellent cupcakes! As for the frosting, all that vanilla gave it kind of a boozy flavor. Maybe we need higher quality vanilla extract!
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