Strawberry-Lemonade Cupcakes!

"Summer, summer, summer, summertime... Time to sit back and unwind".... Oh you know, just listening to Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince while everyone else goes on vacation.... But not me! Nope.... Just me and my tall glass of strawberry lemonade.... So here is my little tribute to summer.

Summertime.

Strawberry-Lemonade Cupcakes!

 Ingredients:

1 cup                              Unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups                             Sugar
4                                     Eggs, room temp
1 tsp.                              Pure vanilla extract
3 tbls.                             Lemon juice + zest
3 cups                            All-purpose flour
1/4 cup                           Powdered lemonade
2 tsp.                               Baking powder
1/2 tsp.                           Sea salt, fine
1 cup                              Milk

Pre-heat oven to 350. Line a standard muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a stand mixer with fitted paddle, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in vanilla and lemon juice. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, lemonade, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with milk until fully incorporated (make sure to scrape down sides of bowl a couple times). Pour into cupcake liners and bake until done (toothpick comes out clean). 

Strawberry Buttercream:

1 cup                          Unsalted butter, room temp
4 cups                         Powdered sugar
1/4 cup                       Strawberries, pureed
1 tbls.                         Lemon juice
                                  Lemonheads (optional)


In a stand mixer with fitted paddle, cream butter until lightened. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in strawberry puree and lemon juice.