These tangy and sweet lemon blueberry cupcakes are irresistibly soft, fluffy, and filled with a homemade blueberry sauce. They’re the best summer dessert topped with beautiful swirls of vanilla and blueberry frosting!
This post is sponsored by the Oregon Blueberry Growers. All opinions are my own.
Today’s lemon blueberry cupcakes are made for summer, and nothing says summer more than fresh Oregon Blueberries. These are my homemade lemon cupcakes with a juicy blueberry filling made from the best blueberries! I even saved some of the blueberry sauce and added it to my vanilla frosting, turning it into a beautiful blueberry frosting swirl. These cupcakes turned out absolutely gorgeous, and I’ll show you how easy it is to make them.
Details About These Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
- Homemade blueberry filling and frosting. Sure, you could simply fold fresh blueberries into the cupcake batter, like you would for blueberry muffins, and these cupcakes would still turn out delicious. However, I opted to make a sweet, tangy blueberry filling instead, which I pipe into the cupcakes and then purée to make a delicious blueberry swirled frosting. I love the element of surprise that comes with biting into a cupcake and being met with a juicy burst of blueberries!
- Moist, tender cupcakes. These ultra-moist lemon cupcakes make use of sour cream, oil, and buttermilk. Most of my cakes and cupcakes use oil instead of butter, and this combination works perfectly for a rich, flavorful crumb balanced out by the bright lemon.
- Focused on summer flavors. I knew I wanted the cupcakes to my unmistakably lemon-flavored, so I added juice AND zest to the batter. Matched with the sweetness of the frosting and blueberries, these cupcakes just scream summer. I can’t wait to make them for a 4th of July cookout or Memorial Day picnic.
I have partnered with the Oregon Blueberry Growers again this year. We look forward to berry season every summer. Oregon is one of the top-producing states for blueberry harvests, and there are so many great u-pick farms to choose from. We always pick more than we need and freeze the rest to enjoy through the fall and winter.
If you find yourself with extra berries on hand, you can whip up a batch of blueberry bread or mini blueberry pies. In the meantime, let’s dive into how to make a batch of stunning lemon blueberry cupcakes!
Ingredient Notes
Besides your standard cupcake ingredients like flour, sugar, eggs, etc., there are a handful of key ingredients you’ll need to make the cupcakes, frosting, and blueberry filling in this recipe. The full recipe card is at the bottom of this post with the printable details. Be sure to pay attention to the temperature of the ingredients specified in the recipe.
- Fresh Lemon – Zested and juiced for the cupcake, while saving a touch of lemon juice for the frosting. Zest the lemon before you juice it! See my tips on how to zest a lemon with or without a zester.
- Lemon Extract – I use lemon extract to amplify the flavor of the cupcakes. Substitute with vanilla extract as needed.
- Sour cream – Including sour cream in cake and cupcake recipes is the secret to a soft, tender, and moist crumb. Plain or Greek yogurt is a good substitute.
- Buttermilk – Tangy buttermilk helps maintain the texture and flavor of the cupcakes. If you don’t have any on hand, you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute by combining 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice with 1 scant cup of regular milk. Leave it to rest for 5 minutes, then stir, and your “buttermilk” is ready to use in the recipe as directed.
- Fresh Blueberries – This homemade filling uses fresh Oregon blueberries cooked down with some sugar to release the juices. Some of the sauce is also used in the frosting for even more blueberry flavor. You can make the filling with frozen blueberries if needed, just thaw and drain them first.
- Cornstarch – Used to thicken the blueberry sauce. All-purpose flour can also be used, though you’ll need twice the amount of flour as cornstarch.
- Unsalted Butter – To combine with powdered sugar, vanilla, and fresh lemon juice for the buttercream frosting. I always make my buttercream with unsalted butter so that I can add the salt to taste. Salted butter can also be used, but in that case, omit the added salt.
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
Between the cupcakes, filling, and frosting, there are a few components to these cupcakes, but I promise the results are worth it! Below is an overview with step-by-step photos. Scroll down to the recipe card afterward for the printable instructions.
- Mix the wet ingredients. First, cream the granulated sugar with the eggs, oil, and lemon extract, then mix in the sour cream and lemon zest.
- Mix and add the dry ingredients. Next, whisk the dry ingredients separately. Add half to the wet ingredients with the lemon juice, mixing on low speed until combined. Then, add the remaining dry ingredients along with the buttermilk.
- Fill the pan and bake. Now, divide the cupcake batter evenly between the wells of a lined cupcake pan, about ⅔ full. I like to use a large cookie scoop for even portioning. Afterward, bake the cupcakes at 350ºF for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before filling and frosting.
Prepare the Blueberry Filling
Once the blueberry sauce is prepared, you’ll set aside a portion of the sauce to purée for the frosting. Likewise, if you’d prefer a less chunky blueberry filling to pipe inside the cupcakes, you can puree the entire batch of sauce once it’s cooled. Follow the steps below.
- Combine the ingredients. Combine the blueberries, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan. Stirring often, cook over medium-high heat until the berries start to bubble and release their juices.
- Add cornstarch. As the blueberries break down, dissolve the cornstarch in 1 tablespoon of water. Add this to the blueberries and stir to combine.
- Simmer. Next, turn down the heat and let the sauce simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until the blueberries soften and the sauce thickens. Finally, remove the pan from the heat and cool completely. You can refrigerate the sauce as needed. It will further thicken as it cools. When the blueberries have cooled, separate ¼ cup of the blueberry sauce to purée for the frosting. See below.
Easy Homemade Buttercream Frosting
You’ll see that the base of my vanilla buttercream starts with cold butter. This is not a mistake! It’s my secret to the perfect consistency. The mixer will break down and beat the butter to soften it. It’s important that the vanilla and blueberry buttercreams have a similar consistency so that they hold their shape.
- Beat the butter. Begin by cutting your cold butter into cubes (about 1 tablespoon in size), then whip it for several minutes. It should be whipped, fluffy, and easily spreadable.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Next, mix in 2 cups of the powdered sugar, followed by the vanilla, and beat until it’s a smooth consistency. Next, add 3 more cups of powdered sugar with the lemon juice and salt. You’ll want to beat this for a couple of minutes at a high speed until it’s completely smooth and fluffy.
Make the Blueberry Swirl
- Purée the blueberries. If you haven’t done so already, add the ¼ cup of blueberry sauce that you set aside earlier to the food processor, and blend until smooth.
- Combine with the frosting. Meanwhile, separate half of the vanilla buttercream and set it aside. To the mixing bowl with the remaining frosting, add 2 tablespoons of sauce and fold that together until it’s combined.
- Adjust the consistency. If the frosting seems thin or runny, add an additional ½ cup of powdered sugar. Additional puree can be added to taste, but you may need to add more powdered sugar to match the consistency of the vanilla buttercream.
How to Fill the Cupcakes
Before you can frost your cupcakes, you’ll need to add the blueberry filling. This is easy to do using the same method I use for my chocolate ganache cupcakes and apple pie cupcakes, where you’ll hollow out the middle and add the filling.
- Scoop out the center of the cupcake. Use a cupcake corer, a knife, or a melon baller to remove the center of the cupcake, going about halfway down (make sure that you don’t go too far down into the cupcake). Save the centers, as you’ll place them back on top of the filling afterward.
- Fill the cupcakes. Next, use a spoon or a piping bag to fill the centers of the cupcake with the blueberry filling. Once they’re all filled, place the cupcake tops back on. You can remove a little bit of the crumbs if needed. Gently press into the filling to give it a “seal”.
Frosting the Cupcakes
I just love how the three components of this cupcake come together, but I especially love the swirled buttercream. If you’re looking for a little less work, consider just going straight to a blueberry buttercream instead of separating it in half.
Once the buttercream is prepared, add the frosting. I used a large closed star tip, Ateco 849. With this buttercream, you can use any of the large piping tips. See more options for decorating cupcakes here.
How to Fill The Piping Bags
To assemble a piping bag with 2 different frostings, you can do it a couple of different ways. Most importantly, you don’t want to overfill the bags, as this makes it difficult to handle. Before you begin, I recommend reading through my tutorial for using piping bags which goes over these tips in greater detail. Note that in either method I described below, I find it easier to fill a separate piping bag with each frosting first, then combine them. You’ll go through several piping bags, but it does make it a lot less messy.
- Double bag method: This method utilizes one piping bag fitted with a tip, and another bag filled with the frosting. This is great because once you need to refill, it’s easy to remove the bag of frosting and replace it with another prefilled bag. To fill the bag of frosting, fold in half over a glass, exposing the bag, and pipe each of the frostings down each side of the bag and squeeze the frosting down the bag to remove excess air.
- Plastic wrap: Another method for filling a piping bag is using plastic wrap. Each frosting can either be piped or spread onto a piece of plastic wrap, which is then tightly rolled with the tip cut off and dropped into the piping bag fitted with the tip. For a visual tutorial, see the post for these rainbow cupcakes.
Helpful Notes
- Don’t overmix the cupcake batter. Like most baking recipes, overmixing the batter results in dense, tough cupcakes. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet batter until they’re just combined.
- If you’re using frozen blueberries, thaw them first. Or, if you’re cooking them from frozen, you may need additional cornstarch to help thicken the sauce.
- You can make this recipe with any berry. Prepare the filling and frosting with any berries you’d like. Try my lemon blackberry cupcakes, or make a variation with strawberries or raspberries.
- Refrigerate the blueberry sauce. The blueberry sauce can be prepared 48 hours ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
- Store unfrosted cupcakes. The cupcakes are best within the first day or two, but can be prepared ahead and kept at room temperature in an airtight container.
- Make the frosting ahead. The frosting can be prepared up to 7 days in advance and kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Bring back to room temperature and re-whip in the mixer before using. In this case, add the blueberry puree once it’s re-whipped. See the section below for detailed storage instructions.
How to Store
- Store the frosted cupcakes. Once frosted, cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 24 hours. If it’s hot or humid, then I recommend refrigerating in an airtight container. Cupcakes will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. These are best served at room temperature.
- Freezing. I don’t recommend freezing frosted and assembled cupcakes. Instead, you can freeze the separate components, the cupcakes, filling, or frosting. Use airtight, freezer-safe containers. Allow the ingredients to come back to room temperature before assembling. The frosting should be re-whipped before use, and the blueberry sauce after the fact.
More Easy Cupcake Recipes
Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 16 minutes
- Yield: 24 Cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
These sweet and tangy lemon blueberry cupcakes are irresistibly soft, fluffy, and bursting with summer flavor! They’re filled with a homemade blueberry sauce and topped with swirls of vanilla and blueberry frosting.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 2 cups (380g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (118ml) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) lemon extract, or pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups (350g) all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons (11.2g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (5g) salt
- 1/4 cup (59ml) lemon juice, (from the zested lemons)
- 1 cup (236ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
For the Blueberry Sauce
- 18 ounces (510g) fresh Oregon blueberries, rinsed.
- ¼ cup (48g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (or AP flour)
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) water, divided
For the Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups (339g) unsalted butter, cold
- 5 ½ cups (715 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) fresh lemon juice (or milk)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2–3 tablespoons blueberry puree (made from blueberry sauce)
Instructions
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and lemon extract. Beat on medium speed until the eggs and oil are well incorporated, scrape down the bowl as needed. Next, add the lemon zest and the sour cream and beat until well combined.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Alternate adding half the dry ingredients followed by half of the liquid ingredients (buttermilk and lemon juice) and mix just until the flour starts to incorporate. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it’s well mixed.
- Using a large cookie scoop, divide the batter evenly, filling each liner 2/3 full. Bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes. Test the cupcakes for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cupcake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cupcakes are done. Cool Completely.
For the Blueberry Sauce
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the blueberries and sugar and stir to combine. Transfer to a large saucepan, add 2 tablespoons water, and cook over medium-high heat until the mixture starts to bubble and release the juices, stirring often. As the blueberries break down, combine 1 tablespoon water with the cornstarch and stir to dissolve; add to the blueberries and mix to combine.
- Turn down the heat and let simmer to allow the blueberries to soften and further cook down. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken, around 10-15 minutes. Stir often so the bottom does not burn. Remove from the heat and cool completely, refrigerate if necessary. The sauce will further thicken as it cools.
- Separate ¼ cup of the blueberry sauce and puree it in a food processor or blender until it reaches a smooth consistency. Set aside.
For the Frosting
- Cut the butter into pieces. Using the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 5-7 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally, and beating until the butter looks light in color.
- Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and the vanilla extract and mix on low speed until incorporated, then increase the speed to high, and beat for approximately 60 seconds or until well combined. Scrape down the bowl. Add the remaining 3 cups of powdered sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Beat on low until the ingredients start to mix together. Increase speed to high and beat for another 2-3 minutes until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Separate half of the frosting and set aside in a bowl. To the mixer, add 2 tablespoons of blueberry puree and mix to combine. If the frosting seems thin or runny, add an additional ½ cup of powdered sugar. Add additional puree to taste.
To Assemble
- Assemble the piping bag. Fit a large piping bag with a large tip and fill it half full with both vanilla and blueberry frosting (see notes for additional tips).
- Remove the centers using a cupcake corer. Save the tops of the cupcakes to the side.
- Use a spoon to fill the center of each cupcake with the blueberry filling. Gently push the top of the cupcake back on top of the filling and then frost the cupcake.
Notes
Ingredient substitutions:
- Buttermilk: Make a homemade buttermilk using milk with either lemon juice or vinegar.
- Sour cream: Use plain or Greek yogurt.
- Fresh blueberries: Frozen blueberries can be used instead. Additional corn starch may be needed to help thicken.
Storing
Once frosted, cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 24 hours. If it’s hot or humid, then I recommend refrigerating in an airtight container. Cupcakes will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. These are best served at room temperature.
Prepare Ahead
The sauce can be prepared 48 hours ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The cupcakes are best within the first day or two but can be prepared ahead and kept at room temperature in an airtight container. The frosting can be prepared up to 7 days in advance and kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Bring back to room temperature and re-whip in the mixer before using. In this case, add the blueberry puree once it’s rewhipped.
Filling the Piping Bag
To assemble a piping bag with 2 different frostings, you can do it a couple of different ways. I find it easier to fill piping bags individually and then use those to squeeze the frosting into the third bag fitted with the tip. Alternatively, you can pipe the frosting onto a large piece of plastic wrap, fold it together and drop it into a piping bag. For a visual tutorial, see the post for these rainbow cupcakes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
- Calories: 412
- Sugar: 49.2 g
- Sodium: 148.6 mg
- Fat: 17.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 62.4 g
- Fiber: 0.9 g
- Protein: 3.1 g
- Cholesterol: 56.6 mg
