These gluten free lemon drop cupcakes are PACKED with real lemon flavor and topped with crushed lemon drop candies. Perfect for summertime!!
I first made these cupcakes a few years ago. When I brought them to my doctor, the next time he saw me he said they were the best cupcakes he'd ever had! Then he said he never had frosting that silky smooth and there was a business in those cupcakes. Haha 😉
Seriously, though, these gluten free lemon drop cupcakes are for the lemon lovers!! First, the buttery and light cupcake has a tart, fresh flavor from lemon juice AND lemon zest. Then it's topped with a bright lemon French buttercream, which is incredibly silky and smooth. Lastly, each cupcake takes a dive in a bowl of crushed lemon drop candies for the ultimate lemony lemon zing!!
THE CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS
- Gluten Free Flour Blend -- of course I use my own blend (Kim's gluten free flour blend), but feel free to use whatever blend you like, as long as it has xanthan gum in it (or add ¼ teaspoon XG).
- Lemons -- you can't make lemon cupcakes without 'em! I use this lemon zester and lemon squeezer to get the most juice and zest out of the lemons as possible.
- Cornstarch -- when blended with the gf flour blend, it acts like cake flour.
- Baking powder and baking soda -- the usual leaveners.
- Buttermilk -- keeps cupcakes moist and tender.
- Butter -- essential fat for flavor and texture.
- Sugar -- for sweetness.
- Eggs -- for richness and leavening.
- Sour Cream -- for tenderizing.
WHAT'S IN THE FROSTING?
This French buttercream is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!! I posted my recipe for French buttercream a while back. It's unlike any frosting you've ever had. Even Swiss meringue buttercream. That's a great one, too, but I personally think French buttercream is the ruler of all frostings. So what makes it so good? It's just four simple ingredients:
- Egg yolks -- you've seen recipes for Swiss or Italian meringue that use egg whites, but French buttercream uses the yolks for a richer frosting.
- Granulated sugar -- there is only one cup of sugar in the entire recipe, not like the usual 4-6 cups in an American buttercream. It's not overly sweet and that's what I love about it the most.
- Water -- combined with the sugar and cooked to soft ball stage, it creates a syrup that's whipped with the yolks.
- Butter -- any true buttercream has to have lots of butter, not shortening. I strongly disagree with using shortening in frostings.
HOW TO DIP THE CUPCAKES IN CRUSHED LEMON DROPS
I've taken so many classes on Bluprint I can't even count anymore. A few of the classes were taught by Jennifer Shea of Trophy Cupcakes, a West Coast favorite cupcakery. In addition to giving us her recipes for many different flavors of cupcakes, she also teaches her techniques in decorating cupcakes.
One of those is rolling the frosting in a topping, such as sprinkles, crumbs, or in this case crushed lemon drops. To do this and get a nice domed cupcake, use a large cookie scoop (click here to find the one I use) and scoop a dollop of frosting on top of each cupcake. Put the crushed lemon drops in a small bowl and turn the cupcake over so the frosting sits on top of the lemon drops.
Begin gently rocking the cupcake back and forth to push the frosting into each part of the top of the cupcake and coat it with the lemon drops at the same time. Then roll it on its side to kind of flatten the frosting into the sides of the cupcake on top.
It's a very gentle process and very simple, but the look is unique and I just love it! Not that I don't like the look of piped swirls, but sometimes I just don't feel like filling a pastry bag, ya know? I love how the crushed candy creates almost a "shell" on the top of the frosting!
My mom claims these to be her most favorite cupcakes I make. If you love lemon, they might become your favorite, too!
Gluten Free Lemon Drop Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 3 cups (420 g) Kim's gluten free flour blend (or any flour blend with xanthan gum)
- ½ cup (55 g) cornstarch
- 2 medium lemons
- 1 tbsp plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups (360 ml) buttermilk
- 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups (450 g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup (120 g) sour cream
- 1 recipe French buttercream (with recommendations for citrus fruit with 1 tablespoon lemon zest)
- 1 small bag lemon drops candies (gluten free) (Walmart's Great Value brand are gluten free)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners and set aside.
- Zest the two lemons. Measure 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon and set aside. Juice lemons to extract ¼ cup (60 ml) and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Combine buttermilk and lemon juice and set aside.
- In bowl of stand mixer (or handheld mixer) beat butter with lemon zest and sugar on low until combined, about one minute. Increase speed to medium low and continue to beat for another minute. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl. Add sour cream.
- With mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the wet ingredients in two parts. Keep the mixer at the lowest speed and mix just until each addition is combined. When everything has been added, scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on low for about 10-20 seconds until batter is smooth. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes and stir gently before using.
- Fill the cupcake liners ¾ full and bake until the cupcakes bounce back when pressed lightly, or when a toothpick inserted into center comes out with just a few crumbs or fairly clean, about 27-30 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.
- While cupcakes are baking, add lemon drops to bowl of food processor and pulse until crushed into somewhat of a powder. Pour into small bowl and set aside.
- Make buttercream as per recipe instructions and frost each cupcake as described above.
Notes
Adapted from Jennifer Shea's The Perfect Cupcake class on Bluprint.
Sarah says
Your recipes and flour blend are pretty much my go-to for all things, but this cake tops them all. It's the best gluten free cake I've ever made and probably one of the best CAKES period (from my pre-celiac days). I had to make a ton of substitutions due to an array of other intolerances in my family and it still worked great. So, for the record, my substitutions, in case they are ever useful to anyone else:
(we can't do corn, tapioca, or milk, but butter is ok)
In the flour blend (this is probably the best my substitutions have ever worked out AND I wrote it down, hallelujah):
- for the tapioca starch I used 25% potato starch, 33% glutinous rice flour (can be purchased at an Asian grocery), and 42% white rice flour.
- for the corn starch, I did a roughly 50/50 blend of arrowroot starch and potato starch
-for the milk powder, I used goat milk powder
In the recipe, I used Tofutti sour cream (I would have preferred a different brand but it's all they had and it ended up working fine), and I replaced the buttermilk with my favorite cashew milk plus some lemon juice.
With so many substitutions, I always know that if the recipe doesn't work, it's probably my own darn fault, but this came out SO GOOD. It's going to be the bar by which I assess all other cakes. I will probably use it as the base for my own experiments. It was just AWESOME. I have a bunch left over that are unfrosted and I'll be snacking on them all week.
Kim says
Awe, that's wonderful to hear!!!
Carol Cohen says
The flavor of this cake is WONDERFUL!! I halved the recipe, as I'm experimenting, and put it in an 8" cake pan, which i baked for 40 minutes. The texture is more like a muffin, but, gosh, SO deliciously lemon! I'm making lavender buttercream tomorrow, and can't wait for that combination! A celiac friend requested a lemon cake/lavender frosting AND your king cake for her birthday next week! YOU are a treasure I have discovered, and I (and my friend!) am BLESSED!
Kim says
Awe, thank you so much Carol! I appreciate you so much (and your wonderful comment) 🥰
Odile Bartlett says
I made this recipe 2 times because the first time they were really tough and I thought I had done something wrong. Same thing happened the second time. They rose beautifully, the internal temperature was at 210, but they also fell a bit after coming out of the oven and were tough. I use your flour blend and have not had this issue with any of your other cakes. I’m quite puzzled.
Brianna says
Is it really 1 tbsp and 1 tsp baking powder? That seems like so much. There is also 1 tbsp and 1 tsp lemon zest. Just wanted to check that there are quality parts baking power and lemon zest.
Kim says
Yes, those amounts are correct. It does seem like a lot, but it works 😊
Tracy says
Hi 🙂
Do you think you could make these with egg substitutes?
Kim says
I've never tried it so I can't say whether it will work or not.
Tabatha Baisley says
Hi Kim. Could this be used for a cake instead of cupcakes?
Krome says
My cupcakes turned out rather tough. Is there something I’m doing wrong? Also, I like lots of lemon flavor and will be doubling the lemon zest 🤤
Kim says
Hmmm. I'm not sure why they would come out tough. They're a really light cupcake usually. Did you perhaps use a store bought gf flour blend instead of mine? That could be the reason. All flour blends are not created equal. Otherwise, not overmixing and alternating the dry and wet ingredients should help with creating light and fluffy cupcakes.
KROME says
I used your blend. Weighed everything too to make sure it was exact. I alternated just like you suggested. I'll try mixing it less. Going to try again!
Nancy Armstrong says
Can this batter be put into a bundt pan instead of cupcakes? I also would just be using a powdered sugar type glaze instead of a frosting.
Kim says
Hi, Nancy! I've never tried it in a Bundt pan, but it's worth a shot!! You'll definitely need to adjust the baking time. I would start with probably double the baking time and then check it with a long skewer 🙂
Nancy says
I will give it a shot and let you know the results!! Thank you
Angela says
I really liked these. They are a bit different from a typical lemon cupcake but not in a bad way. I may want to add a little more sweetener but not much. They held together really well and weren't crumbly at all which I really liked too. I froze half of them. I wanted to make the french buttercream but had to end up making a regular lemon buttercream due to time constraints but I will definitely make some before I run out of these. I think the lemon buttercream I made ended up making the cupcakes seem not as sweet when eating them together but again, it is all personal preference so not a bad thing and I love this recipe.
Kim says
I love the French buttercream, but I haven't really met a buttercream I didn't like (haha!). I'm glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Angela says
oh yes no worries! Your recipe is fantastic. I will definitely keep trying your other recipes. Only tried the pumpkin bread which was perfect!
Sue Roberts says
Hi! I made these after I saw your post , and they were soo good! I was never a big citrus fan until I started trying more lemon recipes, and now I’m hooked! I had a question, can these be left in a container on my counter, or do they have to be refrigerated after the lemon candies are on them? I was concerned that since they had butter, I would need to put them in the refrigerator. I prefer cupcakes at room temperature. Thank you!
Kim says
Hi, Sue! Thank you very much!! I love lemon stuff now myself. I always leave my cupcakes on the counter, unless they have cream cheese in the frosting, but you're welcome to put them in the fridge if you want to. If you keep them more than a day or two, the candy will start to weep a little bit, but if you're like me, cupcakes don't last long anyway!
Thanks, Sue 🙂