Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes
These Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes are a nod to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding last year! Their wedding featured a lemon and elderflower cake. After trying this combination, I was absolutely hooked and knew I needed to make them into a cupcake version. These cute little cupcakes feature lemon flavored cupcakes, which are colored a delightful and bright in flavor, alongside an elderflower Swiss meringue buttercream! The pairing of the bright citrusy lemon flavors with the sweet floral notes of the elderflower are absolutely wonderful. Delightfully sweet while remaining bright and flavorful!
Oil Instead of Butter
When looking at this recipe for Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes, you will notice that I didn’t use butter, and instead used oil as my fat. There are many reasons for this. First, its easy. Using oil instead of butter makes such easy work of a cake. There’s no need to plan in advance and pull out the butter and you do not need to worry about properly creaming the butter and sugar together to ensure proper rising. But the reasoning for using oil is beyond this – 9 times out of 10 it results in a superior texture! Oil-based cakes are much more moist and tender, and actually less dense as well! Oil, by volume, is lighter in weight than butter is, and it also does a better job at encapsulating the flour molecules better than butter does. This superior encapsulation results in better lubrication and less gluten formation!
What all this means is that the cake will be more tender and more moist! While butter provides excellent flavor in a cake or cupcake recipe, if I can get away with using oil, I will always choose oil. And, in this Lemon and Elderflower Cupcake recipe, which is obviously heavily flavored with lemon, you’re really not going to miss the flavor that butter provides. It’s a win-win!
How to Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Although Swiss Meringue Buttercream can seem a little daunting at first, it is actually fairly easy to make! However, it does take a little bit longer than your traditional American buttercream. The benefit, however, is the flavor and texture of Swiss Meringue Buttercream is out of this world! It is delicately sweet and sooo silky and smooth, making it an excellent pair to the bright floral flavors of the Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes.
To make Elderflower Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
Add egg whites and sugar into a metal bowl (you can use the metal bowl of your stand mixer) and place over top of a pot with 1-2” of simmering water (do not use rapidly boiling water). Whisk the eggs and sugar constantly until it reaches 160°F or 70°C. Remove from the heat and place into stand mixer and whip on high (using whip attachment) for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes the meringue should look glossy, thick, and hold stiff peaks. At this point, turn your stand mixer to low and begin adding the butter in 1 tbsp at a time, letting the butter incorporate a bit before the next addition. After all the butter has been added turn the stand mixer back onto high. It may start to look soupy, curdled, and loose – this is okay, just keep beating! Continue to beat until the Swiss meringue buttercream comes together and looks smooth. Then add in the elderflower liqueur and the salt!
Variations and Substitutions
• If you do not want to make a Swiss meringue buttercream, feel free to use your regular buttercream recipe, add just add the elderflower liqueur instead of vanilla (use about 3-4 tbsp per 1 cup of butter).
• You can substitute elderflower cordial for elderflower liqueur.
Get the Recipe: Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes
- 2 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour,, measured correctly †
- 1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Table Salt
- 1 ½ cups Sugar,, divided
- Zest of 2 Lemons
- 3 Whole Eggs
- 1 ½ tsp Vanilla
- 1 tsp Lemon Extract
- 3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Full Fat Sour Cream
- Juice of ½ of a Lemon
Elderflower Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 3 Large Egg Whites
- 1 cup White Sugar
- 1 ½ cups Unsalted Butter,, at room temperature (or very slightly colder)
- 2-3 tbsp Elderflower Liqueur
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
Lemon Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F, and prepare 2 cupcake pans by coating with liners. In a medium to large sized mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and salt, then whisk together to combine. In a separate bowl, add ½ cup of sugar and lemon zest, then rub together the sugar and zest until the sugar is all colored yellow and very fragrant, set aside.
- In a standmixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add eggs, sugar, lemon-zest-sugar, vanilla, and lemon extract. Beat on high for around 5 minutes, the mixture should look thick, fluffy, and be tripled in volume. Then, slowly drizzle in the oil. After all the oil has been added, beat for an additional minute.
- On low, add the dry mixture to the stand mixer, mixing until just combined. Add in the sour cream and lemon juice, and mix only until the batter becomes smooth. Add the batter to the cupcake pans (filling each about 2/3 full), then bake in the oven for around 18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Elderflower Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Place egg whites and sugar into a metal bowl and place over top of a pot of simmering water (ensuring the water is not touching the metal bowl). Whisk the mixture constantly until it reaches 165°F or 70°C. Remove from heat immediately and place into the stand mixer.
- Using the whip attachment, turn the stand mixer onto high and beat the meringue for about 7 minutes. The meringue should have stiff peaks.
- Turn the stand mixer to low and add in the butter 2 tbsp at a time, allowing each addition to incorporate a bit before the next. When all the butter has been added turn the stand mixer back onto high and beat until the buttercream looks smooth. (It may look curdled and soupy at one point, but just keep beating).
- Add elderflower liqueur and salt to the buttercream and beat to combine.
- Place into a piping bag and pipe onto cooled cupcakes (I used Wilton 2D tip).
Cupcakes have a great lemon flavor. Icing was too buttery for my taste but did compliment the cake nicely
Happy you enjoyed the cupcakes! Swiss meringue buttercream is very buttery in general – I find people either love it or hate it!
These are so good! I will make regular buttercream next time though.