Mini Lemon Cupcakes

Several min lemon cupcakes topped with a swirl of lemon condensed milk buttercream.

These mini lemon cupcakes are filled with lemon curd and topped with a swirl of lemon condensed milk buttercream. They are cute, bite-sized treats that pack a flavor punch! Not only do they look and taste divine, but they are super easy to make.

Replacing some of the butter with oil helps keep the cupcakes moist and tender while still giving the little cakes a rich buttery flavor.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 16

Total Time: 36

Servings: mini cupcakes

Calories: 140kcal

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

⅔ cup granulated sugar (135 grams)
⅔ cup sour cream room temperature (152 grams)
1 egg room temperature
¼ cup butter, melted (4 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons canola oil
zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon lemon extract
1-½ cups all-purpose flour (180 grams)
1-½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Filling

½ cup lemon curd (store-bought or homemade

Lemon Buttercream

1-¼ cups butter slightly softened (284 grams)
1 can 14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk
½ cup lemon curd store-bought or homemade
½ teaspoon lemon extract
2 to 4 drops of yellow food coloring optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and place 36 mini cupcake liners in 2 mini cupcake pans.
Place the sugar, sour cream, egg, melted butter, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon extract in a mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined.
Place a sifter over the bowl and sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the batter.
Use a wide spatula to fold the flour mixture into the batter.
Fill each cupcake liner ⅔ full and bake for 12 to 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
Transfer the mini cupcakes to a wire rack and let them cool completely before filling and frosting them.

Fill the Cupcakes

Fit a decorating bag with a round tip (I used a #12 tip) and fill it with ½ cup of lemon curd. Plunge the tip straight down into each mini cupcake and gently squeeze the bag. When you see the cupcake bulge and some of the lemon curd starts to swell out of the cupcakes, stop squeezing.

Make the Lemon Curd Buttercream

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat it with an electric mixer for 6 to 8 minutes until it is very pale yellow and fluffy (a whisk attachment works best to aerate the butter). Stop the mixer a couple of times to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
With the mixer running, slowly add the sweetened condensed milk ¼ of the can at a time. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl between each addition. Make sure you add the condensed milk slowly so the emulsion doesn’t break.
Add the lemon curd, lemon extract, and food coloring (if using). Beat well.
Place the buttercream in a piping bag and swirl it over the top of each cupcake.

Notes

When you make the lemon condensed milk buttercream, the butter should be slightly cool but soft enough to make an indent if you press down with your finger. If the butter gets too warm, it will not hold an emulsion for the buttercream. An ideal temperature for the butter is 64°F to 66°F.
If the condensed milk buttercream breaks (looks curdled or separated), place it in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes, then re-whip it when it chills. Alternatively, whip ¼ cup of butter in a separate bowl then slowly add the broken buttercream.

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