These lemon yuzu cupcakes are from part 2 of my wedding cake tasting that I did with Lyndsey and Jordan. (For part 1, take a look at my earl grey cupcake recipe.) For those of you who aren’t familiar with Asian food, yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit. You can find yuzu juice at most Asian grocery stores. Combined with lemon, these cupcakes pack a punch of citrus flavor.
Like my earl grey recipe, this is an oil-based cake, which means no creaming of butter required. In fact, this recipe is dairy free!
Lyndsey and Jordan ended up choosing this lemon yuzu cake for their wedding, with almond buttercream. You can use my vanilla buttercream recipe and just substitute almond for vanilla extract. Or just use whatever your favorite frosting is. Lemon yuzu would pair well with a simple whipped cream as well!
Lemon Yuzu Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, plus zest of one lemon
- 1/4 cup yuzu juice
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and prepare your cupcake tin with liners.
- Beat eggs and sugar until batter is pale, fluffy, and holds its shape in ribbons just slightly when dripping off the beater.
- Beat in oil until completely homogenous.
- In a separate bowl, mix citrus juices, zest, and extract together.
- In another bowl, mix dry ingredients together until well combined (flour, baking soda, salt).
- Alternate adding citrus liquids and dry ingredients into your batter, mixing or folding very gently to preserve the air bubbles.
- Fill your cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full; this cupcake batter will rise but NOT dome up on top, baking flat instead.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake is springy to the touch. Allow to cool completely and top with your favorite frosting!
I’ll write another blog post with all the details from the finished wedding cake this winter, so stay tuned! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this recipe. For more Asian-inspired cake, check out my lychee rose cupcakes or matcha butter cake recipes.