Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes!

Its been a long time I know!!  

Its hot, and I am home from work with a sick baby, but I still had the urge to whip up some cupcakes... what sounds more refreshing on a hot day than raspberry lemonade?!?!  Ok maybe a margarita or a mojito, LOL, I will attempt those cupcakes soon!

The original recipe the cupcakes are called lemonade cupcakes with raspberry buttercream, but I think Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes sounds much more enticing!!

Cupcakes are never difficult to make, so the recipe was pretty straight forward.  They are quite tasty, but I would prefer that they have a little bit more of a lemony taste.  I think next time I would either use 2 lemons, or add a little lemon extract.

The raspberry buttercream was another story! I used room temperature butter, not good in this heat.  I also probably had just a little more than a cup of raspberries.  My buttercream required WAY more than 3 cups of icing sugar, in fact, I used a whole kilo!  My buttercream was soft and would not hold its form.  I also didn't sieve the raspberry puree to get rid of the seeds.   I frosted the cupcakes using the large star tip, and the seeds kept clogging the tip.  Next time either no seeds or use the larger round tip!  Despite all this, it is absolutely delicious!!

Lemonade Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting

adapted from a lemon cupcake recipe at AllRecipes
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
grated zest and juice of a lemon
1 cup milk, divided
Preheat oven to 375 F and line 24 muffin tins with paper liners.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture a third at a time, alternating with half the milk and half the lemon juice after each of the first 2 additions of flour. Beat until just combined.
Fill the prepared tins and bake for 20 minutes, until springy to the touch. Tip the cupcakes in their tins to help them cool. Let cool completely before frosting. If you like sprinkle with colored sugar. Makes 2 dozen.

 Fresh Raspberry Frosting

1 cup fresh raspberries (or thawed from frozen)
1 cup butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
In the bowl of a food processor, puree the raspberries until smooth. If you like, press the mixture through a sieve to get rid of the seeds.
In a medium bowl, beat the butter and half the sugar until smooth. Add the raspberry puree, then more sugar until you have a fluffy, spreadable consistency. Add a splash of water, too (a tablespoon or two) if it needs it.

Original Recipe from: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/08/22/lemonade-cupcakes-with-raspberry-frosting/

Happy Baking!

JoJo!!