Mixing together the batter for the lemon cranberry cupcakes. Taken by Allspice Photography, LLC.
The finished cranberry compote for the filling. Taken by Allspice Photography, LLC.
The candied lemon peel drying for the cupcakes. Taken by Allspice Photography, LLC.
Ready to assemble the cupcakes! Taken by Allspice Photography, LLC.
After letting the cupcakes cool, we cut out the little cores and filled them with the cranberry compote. Taken by Allspice Photography, LLC.
Super proud of how these cupcakes turned out! Taken by Allspice Photography, LLC.
Our lemon cranberry cupcakes on display! Taken by Allspice Photography, LLC.
The finished and frosted cupcakes! Taken by Allspice Photography, LLC.
I’m super happy to debut this variation of our Lucious Lemon Cake recipe (see the original here), with these jazzed-up Lemon Cranberry Cupcakes! We had some extra cranberries to use up in the fridge, and lemon with cranberry anything is one of my favorite flavor combos. This recipe can be made Gluten-free easily. Check out the recipe below for our suggestions or substitutions. Enjoy this take on a classic flavor pairing with this recipe, and let us know what you think in the comments below! 🧁🍋
Lemon Cranberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcake Ingredients
- ½ cup Non-dairy butter We love the Country Crock plant butter or Monty's cultured cashew butter logs!
- 1 ½ cup Granulated sugar
- 2 ½ cup All-purpose flour You can substitute this with GF flour as well.
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 cup Chopped cranberries
- 1 cup Plain yogurt We recommend Kite Hill's unsweetened original or sheep’s milk yogurt (found at Costco!).
- 3 Eggs
- 1 tbsp Lemon zest
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- ½ tsp Vanilla extract
Cranberry Compote Ingredients
- 3 cup Chopped cranberries
- ½ cup Water
- ⅔ cup Granulated Sugar
- 4 tbsp Lemon juice
- 4 tsp Lemon zest
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
Lemon Frosting Ingredients
- 16 oz Confectioners' (powdered) sugar One smaller package
- 6 tbsp Non-dairy butter We love the Country Crock plant butter or Monty's cultured cashew butter logs!
- 4 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 ½ tsp Vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp Salt
Candied Lemon Peel Ingredients
- 6 cup Water
- 2 Organic Lemons Peeled
- 2 cup Granulated Sugar
Instructions
To make the cupcakes:
- Start by preheating the oven to 350*F. Line two cupcake trays with cupcake liners and set them aside for later.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the beater attachment (or an electric hand mixer), cream one stick of butter (of your choice) and granulated sugar together until smooth, ~5 to 8 minutes. As you cream the butter and sugar, stop and scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula periodically so you make sure to combine the butter and sugar completely.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Once the butter and sugar are integrated, blend in the yogurt. Add the eggs, one by one, cracking into a separate bowl or mug first before adding to the mixing bowl to prevent any bad eggs or shells from getting into the batter. Then add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the dry ingredients. Use an ice cream scoop or similarly sized spoon to fill the cupcake tins halfway full, and bake for about 30 mins or until the toothpick comes out cleanly.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool for 10 minutes before transferring them onto a wire cooling rack and allowing them to cool for an additional 10-20 minutes.
To make the cranberry compote:
- In a small saucepan, combine the filling ingredients on medium heat.
- Cook, stirring constantly, for about 2-5 minutes until the flavors are combined, the water is dissolved, and the compote has thickened. Place the mixture in a heat-safe bowl with a towel or heat-safe pad underneath in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes, allowing the mixture to cool before filling the cupcakes.
To make the lemon frosting:
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer at medium speed (or a stand mixer works too), beat all the ingredients until very smooth, adding more lemon juice (in about 1/3 cup measurements at a time) if it needs to be thinner, or more powdered sugar (in the same increments) if it needs to be thicker. Chill in the fridge briefly before frosting, as mixing it heats the ingredients.*
To make the candied lemon peel:
- Start by removing the peel from two washed, organic lemons with a vegetable peeler in thin strips. Make sure to remove any fruit pulp (the white inner layer of the peel) if applicable. Cut the strips into smaller pieces, if preferred.
- Bring water and lemon peel to a boil in a small saucepan. Drain the water from the peels, and repeat with fresh cold water. Repeat this boiling step three times. Drain and set peels aside.
- Combine 2 cups of fresh water with 2 cups of sugar in your saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the citrus peels, simmering until the white pith (inner layer of the peel) is translucent.
- If you'd like softer peels, you can save the reserved sugar water mixture and store the peels in syrup in the refrigerator. If this is your preference, skip the last step in the peel process.
- If you'd like a crisper, candied peel, line a sheet tray with parchment paper and pour the peels and sugar mixture onto it. Allow to dry and harden for about 30 minutes or overnight, if time allows. Toss the dry candied peels in additional sugar to coat and prevent them from sticking together. Store the peels in an airtight container at room temperature.
To assemble:
- With cupcakes waiting on their cookie cooling rack, place filling, frosting, and toppings in easy reach to begin assembling the cupcakes. Use a spoon or knife to hollow out a 1" core in the center of each cupcake, saving the bits intact that you cut out for later.
- Using a spoon, add about a teaspoon of the cranberry compote filling to each cupcake and top with the saved cupcake piece(s) that match. Once filled, it's time to frost them!
- Carefully spread or pipe the frosting over the cupcakes, adding as much as desired. Top with the candied lemon peel, serve, and enjoy! These will stay good in the fridge in a Tupperware container for up to a week.
Notes
- For the flour step, you can use 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour here too; it works great! Our favorites are Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour and King Arthur’s 1-to-1 Flour.
- Our friend Hannah from One Sweet Mama has some great resources on making candy. She’s an excellent reference if you’re having trouble nailing the candied lemon peel step. See her blog here on candied strawberries!
- *I recommend starting to mix the frosting on the slowest setting possible to prevent powdered sugar from flying everywhere.
