• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Hot Rod's Recipes
  • Browse Recipes
  • How-To
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • How-To
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Videos
    • How-To
    • About
    • Subscribe
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Cakes & Cupcakes

    Limoncello Cupcakes with Lemon Curd

    Published on April 30, 2017 - Updated on January 16, 2023 by Chef Rodney - 2 Comments - This post may contain affiliate links.

    275 shares
    Jump to Recipe
    These Limoncello Cupcakes with Lemon Curd are awesome. Especially if you love lemon-flavored desserts. A must for all you lemon lovers!
     
    Limoncello Cupcakes

    I LOVE these Limoncello Cupcakes with Lemon Curd filling! The first time I heard of Limoncello was in an interview with the great Danny Devito. Turns out he has his own brand of Limoncello.

    Limoncello Cupcakes

    Since I love lemon-flavored desserts, it was a no brainer for me to make these Limoncello cupcakes.

    💭 Recipe Tip

    While you can pretty much use any brand of cream cheese, I highly recommend you use Philadelphia brand cream cheese. You will taste the difference.

    philadelphia cream cheese

    I did make my own lemon curd for these cupcakes (see recipe card below), but you can also buy lemon curd from your local grocery store and still achieve the same delicious results.

    Limoncello Cupcakes

    And just to make sure you get all the lemon flavor you can handle, I've included a lemon buttercream icing to go with these delicious cupcakes.

    🥛 Buttermilk Substitution

    If you don't have Buttermilk on hand, you can use this trick as a substitute: Add one tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring cup. Add milk and fill to the 1 cup measurement line. Stir the mixture together and let sit for 5 minutes. Since this recipe calls for ½ cup you will need to adjust accordingly.

    limoncello bottle

    🥃 Alcohol Warning

    Please take into consideration that some of the alcohol in this recipe may not completely burn off and the remains could be of significant concern to recovering alcoholics, parents, and others who have ethical or religious reasons for avoiding alcohol.
     

    For more delicious recipes like this one, make sure you check out my collection of Cake & Cupcake Recipes. My Lemon Curd Cookies 🍋 are absolutely fabulous! Also check out these other delicious recipes:

    • Weight Watchers Pumpkin Spice Cake
    • Air Fryer Salmon Fillets
    • Copycat Hard Rock Cafe Guacamole
    • Avocado Aioli

    📋 What Ingredients do I need

    You will need the following ingredients to make this Limoncello Cupcakes recipe (see recipe card for quantities): All Purpose Flour, Baking Powder, Salt, Unsalted Butter, Softened, Cream Cheese, White Sugar, Eggs, Limoncello, Buttermilk, Lemon Juice, Lemon Zest and Powdered Sugar.

    🥣 How to make Limoncello Cupcakes

    Preheat Oven to 325°F.
    Beat the softened butter and cream cheese. Add the sugar and mix well until light and fluffy.
    Stir in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.
    Add the limoncello and beat until well mixed.
    Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add half the flour to the butter mixture and mix well. Pour buttermilk into the mixture and mix until well combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix.
    Mix in lemon juice and lemon zest just until combined.
    Pour batter into a prepared cupcake pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean - about 18 to 20 minutes depending on your oven. Let cupcakes cool on a wire rack.

    🥣 How to make Lemon Curd Filling

    In a saucepan over medium heat, mix lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar until it boils.
    In a mixing bowl, whisk egg and egg yolk.
    Remove lemon mixture from heat. Whisk lemon mixture into eggs to temper.
    Add mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened. Cool completely.
    Use a cupcake corer (or your preferred method) to make a hole into tops of cooled cupcakes. Fill each cupcake with cooled lemon curd.

    🥣 How to make Lemon Buttercream Icing

    In a small bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese.
    Add the limoncello and beat until smooth.
    Beat in powdered sugar until desired icing consistency is obtained.
    Pipe icing onto cooled cupcakes.

    Limoncello Cupcakes

    Limoncello Cupcakes with Lemon Curd

    These Limoncello Cupcakes with Lemon Curd are awesome. Especially if you love lemon-flavored desserts. A must for all you lemon lovers!
    4.88 from 8 votes
    Print Recipe Rate Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Total Time 35 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 18
    Calories 316 kcal

    Equipment

    • Muffin Pan

    Ingredients
     

    CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS

    • 1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
    • ½ teaspoon Salt
    • ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
    • 2 oz Cream Cheese
    • 1 Cup White Sugar
    • 3 Eggs
    • 1 tablespoon Limoncello
    • ½ Cup Buttermilk
    • ¼ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
    • 1 Lemon Zest

    LEMON CURD FILLING

    • ½ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
    • 2 Lemon Zest
    • ¼ Cup White Sugar
    • 1 Egg
    • 1 Egg Yolk

    LEMON BUTTERCREAM ICING

    • ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter
    • 6 oz Cream Cheese
    • 4 Cups Powdered Sugar
    • 2 tablespoon Limoncello
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    MAKE THE CUPCAKES

    • Preheat Oven to 325°F.
    • Beat the softened butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and mix well until light and fluffy.
    • Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.
    • Add the limoncello and beat until well mixed.
    • Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add half the flour to the butter mixture and mix well. Add buttermilk to mixture and mix until well combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix.
    • Mix in lemon juice and lemon zest just until combined.
    • Pour batter into prepared cupcake pan and bake until toothpick comes out clean - about 18 to 20 minutes depending on your oven. Let cupcakes cool on wire rack.

    MAKE LEMON CURD FILLING

    • In a saucepan over medium heat, mix lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar until it boils.
    • In a mixing bowl, whisk egg and egg yolk.
    • Remove lemon mixture from heat. Whisk lemon mixture into eggs to temper.
    • Add mixture back to saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened. Cool completely.
    • Use a cupcake corer (or your preferred method) to make a hole into tops of cooled cupcakes. Fill each cupcake with cooled lemon curd.

    MAKE THE LEMON BUTTERCREAM ICING

    • In a small bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese.
    • Add the limoncello and beat until smooth.
    • Beat in powdered sugar until desired icing consistency is obtained.
    • Pipe icing onto cooled cupcakes.

    Notes

    → If you don't have Buttermilk on hand, you can use this trick as a substitute: Add one tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring cup. Add milk and fill to the 1 cup measurement line. Stir the mixture together and let sit for 5 minutes.
    → Please take into consideration that some of the alcohol in this recipe may not completely burn off and the remains could be of significant concern to recovering alcoholics, parents, and others who have ethical or religious reasons for avoiding alcohol.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 316kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 172mgPotassium: 89mgSugar: 41gVitamin A: 405IUVitamin C: 5.2mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 0.8mg

    Nutritional information provided for this recipe is based on 1 serving. This information is an estimate and may vary based on several factors. If nutritional information is important to you and your diet, please verify this recipe with a Registered Dietitian.

    Tried this Recipe?Leave a Comment below and share a picture on Instagram and tag @hot_rods_recipes and hashtag #hotrodsrecipes!

    More Awesome Cakes & Cupcake Recipes

    • Simple Royal Icing
    • Easy Angel Sherbet Cake
    • Peanut Butter Cake
    • Strawberry Pound Cake 🍓
    hot rods recipes

    Reader Interactions

    2 Comments

    1. Rose L

      June 03, 2020 at 9:56 pm

      I’m trying out different cupcake recipes for our wedding and found your recipe for lemon cupcakes. I made these today and the
      flavor of these cupcakes is absolutely delicious! I opted not to use the lemon curd because the lemon buttercream is perfectly creamy, not too sweet (I decreased the powdered sugar to 3 cups), it compliments the subtle flavor of the cupcakes, and it pipes easily. The one thing I was disappointed about was that they didn’t rise. I always pour one third cup of batter into each cupcake liner; unfortunately these cupcakes remained as poured. When unwrapped, the cake itself is about 1” high. I followed the directions closely and am wondering if I should increase the baking powder to 2 tsp. I’d appreciate any suggestions you may have.
      P

      Reply
      • Chef Rodney

        June 04, 2020 at 10:21 am

        Thanks for the feedback! These are indeed great cupcakes. Sorry to hear they didn't rise as expected. In my experience, several factors can be at play here. Sometimes over mixing the batter or the oven not being hot enough. Adding a 1/2 or 1 more tsp might do the trick as well.

        Reply

    leave comment and rating! Cancel reply

    We would love to hear from you! If you made this recipe, please choose a star rating. Thanks!

    Recipe Rating:




    Before a comment appears it needs to be approved by the site owner. Read our Comment Policy to see how your comment data is processed. Your email address will NOT be published.

    Primary Sidebar

    Chef Rodney Headshot

    Hi! I'm Rodney and welcome to my blog. I am a foodie and self-taught cook. See More →

    Trending Recipes

    • Pineapple Sauce for Ham
    • Cinnamon Donut Bread
    • Cinnamon Sugar Beaver Tails
    • French Canadian Sugar Pie

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    Recipes

    • Recipe Index
    • Copycat Recipes
    • Pressure Cooking
    • Celebrity Chef Recipes

    About

    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Recipe Disclaimer
    • Contact Us

    Social

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

    Copyright © 2015-2023 The Ventucky Chef, LLC. All rights reserved.