Eggless Lemon Cupcakes
My eggless lemon cake is so delicious (if I do say so myself), that I HAD to adapt the recipe into a cupcake version.
I always think that cupcakes are ideal for birthdays and get togethers, because they are just so pretty. Whether its a big softee swirl of thick buttercream, or a drizzle of icing and sprinkles that your kids helped with, either version is so charming to me! If you want a simple lower sugar cupcake, maybe because your kids devour them, then they are equally delicious without any buttercream.
I baked these for my friend’s hen (bachelorette) party, and they went down a treat. After that, I immediately wanted to record the recipe and share it for other people to try.
If you haven’t seen the loaf cake version of this recipe yet, you can find the link here:
What is so great about these eggless lemon cupcakes?
- Fresh zesty lemon flavour
- Soft and fluffy texture
- Beautiful golden colour
- Egg free, and easily adapted into a vegan recipe
What ingredients do you need to bake these cupcakes?
These cupcakes use ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen! For the cupcake sponge you will need:
- Self raising flour
- Caster sugar
- Baking powder
- Milk
- Sunflower oil
- Golden syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon zest
- Lemon juice.
Then it just depends on how you want to top your cupcakes! Details on this are included below.
Make or break for your cupcakes
- When pouring the batter into the cupcake liners, fill the liners so that they are 3/4 full. This will ensure that the cupcakes rise to the top of the liner, giving you a perfect canvas to frost the cupcakes.
- Bake the cupcakes in a preheated oven for 22 minutes. No more and no less. Any more will overcook the cupcakes and make them dry. Any less and the cupcakes may be dense and pale.
Frosting your cupcakes
If you do decide to frost these cupcakes, then I would suggest making the full batch of buttercream as described in my recipe below. This will make the frosting so much easier because you won’t have to squeeze the piping bag super hard to get the frosting out.
For the cupcakes pictured, I used the Wilton 2D tip, which is great for creating a rose style swirl. For this swirl, I start from the centre of the cupcake and pipe concentric circles outwards. This frosting style is fairly flat (i.e. a 2D effect), but there is still PLENTY of frosting in each bite.
If you do want to create an ice cream style swirl, you can use a Wilton 1M tip, which is shaped like an open star. For this effect, you would start from the edge of the cupcake and pipe circles inwards so that they slightly overlap and the frosting gets higher as you reach the centre of the cupcake.

Eggless Lemon Cupcakes
- Total Time: 52 minutes
- Yield: 10 cupcakes 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Fluffy and soft eggless lemon cupcakes, topped with indulgent buttercream. So quick and easy to make.
Ingredients
CUPCAKES
- 200g self raising flour – sieved
- 80g caster sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 level teaspoon baking powder
- 200ml whole milk – or a plant based alternative to make this cake vegan or dairy free
- 100ml sunflower oil – or any other mild tasting cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 unwaxed lemon – both the juice and zest.
frosting
- 150g icing sugar
- 50g butter
- 1 unwaxed lemon – zest and 2 tablespoons of the juice
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners, and preheat the oven to 180c. This recipe will make 10 cupcakes.
- Stir together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
- Add the milk, oil, golden syrup and vanilla extract to the bowl. Fold everything together.
- Add in the juice and zest of one lemon and combine. You might notice the mixture start to bubble, which is normal.
- Pour the mixture into a baking tin, and bake for 22 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.
- Leave the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.
Frosting
- If you want to frost the cupcakes, make the buttercream by placing the butter and icing sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Gently beat together until they are combined.
- Add the lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Beat for a couple more minutes. If the buttercream feels stiff, add 1 tablespoon of milk, and beat on high until the buttercream is fluffy. This should only take a couple of minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as the mixer beats everything together.
- Once the cupcakes are cool, pipe the frosting on top or spread on with a palette knife for a more rustic look.
Notes
These cupcakes will keep well in an airtight container for 2 -3 days.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 320
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