Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Mom and I share a birthday. She graciously forewent her own birthday celebrations when I was little—I loved sharing with her. And when I was in middle school and resented sharing my birthday, she found a way to make me feel special, despite my selfishness. Now that I’m an adult, we’ve started a new tradition. We make cupcakes together to take to our respective jobs.
This year we made Strawberry Lemonade cupcakes and they turned out delicious. We dressed up on box of lemon cake mix, a box of lemon pudding, and a box of strawberry Jello into something that surprised me. We doubled the recipe so there would be enough for both of us to take to work, but I’ll give you the instructions for a single batch.
We used the same recipe I used for my dad’s birthday cake, only I made it lemony.
Lemon Cupcakes
Ingredients:
- 1 box of lemon cake mix
- 1 package of lemon pudding
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Put the cupcake papers in the tins.
- Beat everything together until smooth. Try not to eat it all before you bake it.
- Scoop the batter into the liners. Go for about 2/3 full.
- Turn down the oven to 325.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes.
- Make sure they’re done with either a toothpick or make sure that they spring back after you press the tops.
- Cool on a cooling rack.
Thee cupcakes turned out so well. It was almost a shame to frost them.
Now, we decided to make these poke cakes to make them extra moist, and also to add that strawberry flavor.
Make a box of strawberry Jello according to the box, but don’t refrigerate it. Use a fork to poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes while they’re still warm. Spoon about a teaspoon of the liquid jello onto the top of the cupcakes—we could have done more, probably.
Strawberry Frosting
Ingredients:
- 5 strawberries
- ½ lemon – zested
- 1 cup of butter
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla
- pinch of salt
Directions:
- Blend the strawberries and lemon zest into a puree.
- Beat the butter until it’s fluffy.
- Add 4 cups of powdered sugar into the butter and beat until creamy.
- Add the vanilla and salt and beat until combined.
- Add the puree.
- You will probably need to add the other cup of powdered sugar, or more.
- Beat until the buttercream reaches a desired consistency.
I used a big star decorating tip to put the frosting on the cupcakes.
They turned out pretty and tasty, which is the perfect birthday treat.
