Sunday, May 22, 2011

raspberry lemonade cupcakes

I know, it's been over two months since the last post. But forgive me! Being the last semester in my fourth year of school, it was so crazy that I didn't even have time to make a piece of toast. That being, I came home in late April for the summer, and had made some new recipes that I intended to post on here. But another wrench in the plans: my computer died. Completely crashed, taking all my files and my ability to upload my pictures. So here I am, two months later, finally giving you guys another recipe that I love. These cupcakes are sweet yet tart, and flavourful with a nice texture. Fresh raspberries and lemon juice give them a special, fresh flavour that make you completely forget that these cakes came from a box mix.

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing

1 box French Vanilla or Yellow cake mix
Additional ingredients following cake mix box
(generally 3 eggs, 1 cup water, 1/3 cup oil)
1 package (4 serving) Lemon instant pudding mix
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups fresh raspberries

Icing:
1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar (additional if needed)
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. Beat together cake mix, eggs, oil and water until smooth. Mix in lemon pudding mix and lemon juice until completely smooth as well. Gently fold in raspberries, allowing them to break apart a little bit. Make sure each raspberry has at least been halved (you don't want any raspberries to remain whole). Fill cupcake liners 1/2 to 2/3 full, and bake according to cake mix package directions (usually about 20 minutes). Let cool completely.

Icing:
In a mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Beat in cream cheese and vanilla extract. Mix in powdered sugar gradually, adding a cup at a time until smooth. Add in additional powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency (more sugar = a stiffer icing). Ice cupcakes and garnish with whole raspberries, if desired. Store in an airtight container. Makes 24 cupcakes.