Royal Wedding Inspired! – Lemon & Elderflower Cupcakes

The event of the season is only hours away and Royal Wedding fever is in full swing!  And to celebrate I made some very Royal Wedding inspired cupcakes. 👑 Lemon and Elderflower cupcakes, the official flavor for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and of course the official flavor for tonight’s viewing party! 😜 Shall we also say the new flavor combo of Spring?!  Perhaps?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but I’m a fan of a good floral flavor in my baked goods.  Especially elderflower!!  Remember this grapefruit and elderflower concoction?  Oh yeah!  I’m a sucker for anything with elderflower.  So you can guess my excitement when I heard that lemon and elderflower would be the happy couples flavor combo.  

Now as far as I’m aware, elderflower is a pretty unique and uncommon flavor here in the States.  Even the actual elderflower (as in, the real flower) seems to be pretty rare.  If anyone has seen or knows where to purchase actual elderflowers here in the Bay Area, please let me know!  However, thanks to the magic of the internet we can find & purchase even the most obscure items.  Here are a few options if you’re in the market for elderflower flavors.

Flavoring Options:

• Elderflower Essence
• Elderflower Syrup or an in-store option if you live near an Ikea
• Elderflower liquor, such as St Germain (sold at BevMo or Total Wine & More)

I’ve found the essence to have the strongest flavor payoff of all three options, but you can use whichever one you’d like.  Make sure to check the notes in the recipe for how much flavoring to use based on what you have. 

Hope everyone enjoys these fun new cupcakes and the Royal Wedding, I know I will!  Cheers! 

Lemon & Elderflower Cupcakes

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• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x

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Description

A light and refreshing lemon and elderflower cupcake topped with a fragrant elderflower buttercream. Inspired by the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle!

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Ingredients

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Lemon & Elderflower Cupcakes

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 TBS lemon zest
• 1 tsp elderflower essence (see note)
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2/3 cup milk (whole or 2%)

Elderflower Buttercream

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 – 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 8–10 drops elderflower essence (or enough to make buttercream fragrant, see note)
• 2 TBS heavy cream, plus more as needed
• ½ tsp salt (optional)

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Instructions

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with liners.
2. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugar for a few minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Next, beat in eggs, lemon zest and elderflower essence. Mix on a medium speed until well combined.
3. In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add ½ of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture, then add half of the milk, beating of low speed after each addition. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients and milk, mixing on low speed until just combined.
4. Evenly fill each cupcake liner, about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

Buttercream

1. Beat butter until light and creamy, using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer. Slowly add in powdered sugar, and mix on the lowest speed. Add one cup at a time, until you’ve reached 3 – 3 ½ cups. At this point, add in lemon juice, elderflower essence and 2 TBS heavy cream and salt (if using – salt helps cut down the sweetness, so use if you prefer your frosting on the less sweet side). Beat the mixture on a medium-high speed for a few minutes until the buttercream is smooth and fluffy.
2. If frosting is too thick, beat in a bit more heavy cream. If it is too thin, beat in the additional half cup of powdered sugar. Adjust the amount of cream and sugar until the desired consistency is achieved.

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Notes

If you can’t find elderflower essence, you can substitute with elderflower syrup or liquor. The syrup and liquor will not have as strong of a flavor, so you’ll need to increase the amounts used in the cupcakes to about 2 TBS, and increase the amount in the buttercream to about 2 tsp or more.

Happy baking and congrats to Harry & Meghan! ❤

xo,

Courtney