Mini Lemon Drop Cakes are a must-make for any lemon lover! These sweet and tangy glazed desserts have a double dose of fresh citrus flavor baked right into the batter.
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Mini Lemon Drop Cakes recipe may be the cutest, softest, buttery bites you’ll ever bake! Filled with fresh citrusy flavor and coated with a lemon glaze, there’s sweet and tangy tastes packed into each small size package.
Lemon Drop Cake Recipe
Our easy Lemon Drop Cakes recipe has a soft and tender texture and sweet and tangy taste; these lemon drops are dipped in a delicious glaze that gives them even more lemon flavor and hardens into a contrasting crunchy coating.
There’s something about small-sized citrus snacks, like my Lemon Oreo Truffles, Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes, and Lemon Cake Mix Cookies, that turns sour fruit into a fun-to-eat sweet and tart confection.
Lemon Drop Cakes Ingredients
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Fresh lemon zest: Be sure to rinse your lemons under cool water and wipe away any residue or coatings from the outside of the lemon before zesting and squeezing.
- Whole milk – Make sure the milk is at room temperature before adding it to the batter for even mixing and baking of the cake batter.
- Fresh lemon juice
- Sour cream – room temperature. We recommend using full-fat sour cream.
- Powdered sugar
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Lemon Drop Cakes
- Make The Flour Mixture: Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Form The Fluffy Mixture: Cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
- Create The Cake Batter: Mix half the flour mixture into the butter mixture, then add the milk mixture and mix again. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
- Bake: Fill each mini muffin cup with batter and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 9-10 minutes. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before removing.
- Make The Lemon Glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, melted butter, and milk until smooth and pourable.
Pro Tip: You can add additional whole milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if you need to thin the glaze to your liking. - Cover The Cakes: Dip the cakes into the glaze, covering the entire bottom and sides. Allow any excess glaze to drip back into the bowl and place on the cooling racks, bottom side up, to set completely.
- Serve: Serve and enjoy!
Tip: If you only have one (24 count size) mini muffin pan, you can bake half the batter at a time. Once cooled and flipped onto the wire rack, you can bake the remaining batter. Make sure to wipe out and residue from the first batch and lightly spray the pan with cooking spray again before adding the second batch of batter.
Tips & Variations
- There may be a small amount of batter leftover when filling the mini muffin cups. Do not overfill the mini muffin cups with excess batter.
- You will know your cakes are done baking when they are lightly golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Try topping your little lemon dessert cakes with a drizzle of melted white chocolate, a dusting of powdered sugar, or even spreading a lemon cream cheese frosting on top.
How to Store Lemon Drop Cakes
- To Store: Store the lemon drop cakes in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days or on the counter for 3-4 days.
- To Freeze: Unglazed lemon drop cakes can be stored in an airtight container, in the freezer, for up to 2 months.
More Lemon Recipes
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Lemon Drop Cakes
Serves — 48
Mini Lemon Drop Cakes are a must-make for any lemon lover! These sweet and tangy glazed desserts have a double dose of fresh citrus flavor baked right into the batter.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
Lemon Cakes
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons fresh lemon zest
- ½ cup whole milk
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
Lemon Glaze
- 1½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350* F. Spray 2 (24 count) mini muffin tins with baker’s spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl sift together the all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.1½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large mixing bowl cream together, using a stand mixer or hand held mixer on medium speed, the unsalted butter and granulated sugar for 1-2 minutes or until light and fluffy.1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter
- With the mixer on low, beat in the eggs and egg yolk one at a time, being sure to fully combine each egg before adding the next, followed by the vanilla extract and fresh lemon zest. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are fully combined.2 large eggs, 1 large egg yolk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1½ teaspoons fresh lemon zest
- To a small mixing bowl whisk together the whole milk, fresh lemon juice and sour cream.½ cup whole milk, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons sour cream
- To the large mixing bowl add half the flour mixture mix, on low speed, just until the flour is incorporated.
- Add the milk mixture and mix again, on low speed, just until fully incorporated.
- Add the remaining flour mixture and mix on low speed just until all the flour has been fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure the batter is evenly mixed. The batter should be thick.
- Using a small cookie scoop, fill each of the prepared mini muffin cups ½-⅔ full with batter (approximately ¾ tablespoons of batter). There may be just a small amount of batter leftover. Do not overfill the mini muffin cups with any excess batter.
- Bake the lemon drop cakes for 9-10 minutes or just until lightly golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the lemon drop cakes to cool in the pans for 5 minutes before flipping them out onto a wire cooling rack, with the bottoms of the cakes facing up, until they cool completely. While the lemon drop cakes are cooling you can make the lemon glaze.
Lemon Glaze
- In a medium mixing bowl add the sifted powdered sugar, fresh lemon juice, melted unsalted butter and whole milk. Whisk until smooth and a pourable consistency. You can add additional whole milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if you need to thin the glaze to your liking.1½ cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons whole milk
- Dip the mini lemon cakes into the glaze covering the entire bottom and sides of the cakes with the lemon glaze. Allow any excess glaze to drip back into the bowl before placing the glazed lemon drop cakes back onto the cooling rack, bottom side up, to allow the glaze to set completely. Repeat until all the lemon drop cakes are glazed.
- Once the lemon glaze has set, you can plate and serve the lemon drop cakes.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: Store the lemon drop cakes in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days or on the counter for 3-4 days.
- To Freeze: Unglazed lemon drop cakes can be stored in an airtight container, in the freezer, for up to 2 months.
- Be sure to rinse your lemons under cool water and wipe away any residue, or coatings, from the outside of the lemon before zesting and squeezing.
- Whole milk and full fat sour cream work best in this lemon mini cakes recipe to yield moist and tender treats.
- Make sure that both the milk and sour cream are room temperature before adding them to the batter for even mixing and baking of the cake batter.
- When filling the mini muffin cups, there may be a small amount of batter leftover. Do not overfill the mini muffin cups with any excess batter.
- You will know your cakes are done baking when they are lightly golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 73kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 40mg | Potassium: 16mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 98IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.2mg
nice recipe I love the taste and texture❤️😁