This Lemon Raspberry Cupcake recipe takes a basic box of cake mix and turns it into the best bakery-style lemon cupcakes loaded with raspberries and a swirl of frosting.
Easy to make in minutes, these sweet and tangy treats have a burst of fresh berries in every bite.
Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting
Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes recipes are the perfect combination of sweet and tart, with a moist and fluffy base that’s topped with a creamy citrus frosting.
With a few baking hacks and a cake mix shortcut, these lemon and raspberries cupcakes are a quick and easy summer dessert and a must-make for lemon lovers.
What makes my lemon and raspberry cupcakes the best is that I use a lemon pudding mix for an extra boost of flavor and swap the water for milk for a richer and more tender taste and texture.
Why We Love This Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes Recipe
- Quick and easy to make with a cake mix hack.
- Uses simple ingredients that you probably have in your pantry.
- Filled with my favorite refreshing and bright flavors for spring and summer.
- Full-flavored lemon flavor from lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon pudding.
- Delicious dessert with health benefits from fresh fruit.
- Perfect for picnics, potlucks, warm weather parties, or special celebrations.
Other Lemon Recipes
Ingredients
- Box White Cake Mix: I used Duncan Hines brand but feel free to use your favorite.
- Instant lemon flavored pudding mix: I used Jell-o brand.
- Eggs
- Vegetable oil
- Whole milk: I recommend using whole milk in this recipe, although you can use 2% as well. Avoid fat-free milk.
- Lemon zest
- Lemon juice
- Fresh raspberries
- All-purpose flour
- Cream cheese
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Heavy cream
Substitutions and Additions
- Pick Your Pudding: If you are unable to find the lemon flavored instant pudding, you can substitute it with vanilla, cheesecake, or white chocolate, and add 1-1 ½ teaspoons lemon extract to your cupcake batter.
- Crown Your Cupcake: For a fancy flair, add a lemon slice and a raspberry immediately after piping on the frosting.
- Make Without Water: I substituted the 1 cup water that is listed on the directions for the white cake mix on the back of the box for 1 cup whole milk. You can just make your box mix according to the recipe, but I find that the substitution of the whole milk for the water makes a richer, and more tender, cupcake. You can use 2% milk as well.
- Frosting Flavor: I love the sweet tangy flavor of my homemade cream cheese frosting, but feel free to use a raspberry buttercream frosting, a raspberry frosting, or even a lemon frosting for even more fruity flavor.
Recommended Tools
- Muffin tins
- Paper cupcake liners
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring tools
- Whisk
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- Piping bag with a large piping tip or zip top bag
See Full Recipe Card Below
Jump to RecipeHow to Make Lemon And Raspberry Cupcakes
These extra moist lemon cupcakes are so quick and easy to make because they use a box mix to make the base and then tops it with a sweet swirl of frosting. With pretty pops of color baked right into the batter, these are a delicious dessert that’s perfect for warm weather.
- Make The Batter: Whisk together the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, lemon zest and lemon juice for 2 minutes or until smooth. Carefully incorporate the flour-coated raspberries into the batter.
Pro Tip: Do not overmix your batter. - Make The Frosting: Beat together the cream cheese and butter for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and beat to combine. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and heavy cream, beat for an additional 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. Spoon the frosting into a piping bag and refrigerate for 1-2 hours while the cupcakes are baking and cooling.
Pro Tip: If your frosting is too thin you can add additional powdered sugar. Start with ½ cup and adjust from there to get a consistency that will be easily piped onto the cupcake but that will also hold its shape. - Bake: Pour the cupcake batter into the muffin tins, ⅔ – ¾ full. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-22 minutes.
Pro Tip: Cupcakes are done when they are lightly golden at the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. - Cool The Cupcakes: Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Add The Topping: Pipe the frosting onto each cupcake and garnish with a fresh raspberry and small slice of fresh lemon if desired.
- Serve: Serve and enjoy!
Tips from Our Recipe Developer
- Try to find small fresh raspberries to use in this recipe. They get distributed into the cupcake batter more evenly. If your raspberries are on the larger size you may need to carefully cut them in half making sure to not make them mushy.
- You must toss the raspberries in flour before adding them to the batter. This will help keep the raspberries from sinking to the bottom of the batter when baked.
- Before you begin baking, make sure your butter, eggs, and cream cheese have all come to room temperature. Cold ingredients do not bond.
- Make sure your frosting has chilled for 1-2 hours (or overnight) to allow the frosting to firm up so that it is easier to pipe onto the cupcakes.
- For my piping tips I like to use the Wilton large star tips such as the 6B or 8B ones.
Storage Tips
- To Store: You can store these cupcakes in a covered container, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Other Easy Cupcake Recipes
- Boston Cream Cupcakes
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes
- Pina Colada Cupcakes
- Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
- Homemade Hostess Cupcakes
- Fireball Cupcakes
- Thin Mint Cupcakes
- Grape Soda Cupcakes
Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
Serves — 24
Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes are quick and easy to make with a cake mix shortcut. It's the best light, moist, sweet, and tangy base, topped with cream cheese frosting, with fresh berries in every bite!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 33 minutes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 15.25 oz box White Cake Mix (I used Duncan Himes brand)
- 3.4 oz instant lemon flavored pudding mix (I used Jell-o brand)
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup fresh raspberries (plus additional for garnish)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 7 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Garnish
- Fresh raspberries and small slices of lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350* F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with paper cups. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add the contents of the supermoist lemon cake mix, instant lemon pudding mix, eggs, vegetable oil, whole milk, lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Whisk the ingredients for 2 minutes or until smooth and no lumps remain. Do not overmix your batter.
- In a small bowl add the fresh raspberries and all-purpose flour. Toss to fully coat the raspberries with the flour. This will help keep the raspberries from sinking to the bottom of the batter when baked.
- Gently stir the raspberries into the cupcake batter until well distributed. Don’t overmix!
- Evenly distribute the cupcake batter into the 24 paper lined muffin tins. They should be ⅔ – ¾ full.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until lightly golden at the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan, on the counter, for 10 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- While your cupcakes are baking you can make your cream cheese frosting by adding to a large mixing bowl the cream cheese and unsalted butter. Beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, to the cream cheese and beat to combine.
- To the cream cheese mixture add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract and heavy cream. Beat for an additional 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. Note: If your frosting is too thin you can add additional powdered sugar. You will want to start with ½ cup and adjust from there to get a consistency that will be easily piped onto the cupcake but that will also hold its shape.
- You will transfer your cream cheese frosting to an extra large piping bag, or zip top bag with the corner snipped off, that has been fitted with a large piping tip. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours while your cupcakes are baking and cooling. This will allow the frosting to firm up so that it is easier to pipe onto the cupcakes.
- Transfer your cooled cupcakes to a serving platter and pipe the cream cheese frosting onto each cupcake. Garnish with a single fresh raspberry and small slice of fresh lemon if desired.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
You can store these cupcakes in a covered container, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Tips:
- Try to find small fresh raspberries to use in this recipe. They get distributed into the cupcake batter more evenly. If your raspberries are on the larger size you may need to carefully cut them in half making sure to not make them mushy.
- You must toss the raspberries in flour before adding them to the batter. This will help keep the raspberries from sinking to the bottom of the batter when baked.
- Before you begin baking, make sure your butter, eggs, and cream cheese have all come to room temperature. Cold ingredients do not bond.
- Make sure your frosting has chilled for 1-2 hours (or overnight) to allow the frosting to firm up so that it is easier to pipe onto the cupcakes.
- The frosting became soft quickly so you need to serve them immediately after frosting unless placed in the fridge until ready to serve.
- For my piping tips I like to use the Wilton large star tips such as the 6B or 8B ones.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 289mg | Potassium: 101mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 195IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 1mg
Is it a lemon cake mix or white one?
Is it a lemon cake mix or white
I cannot wait to try this recipe. It looks so delicious.