And….voila! Here is the final recipe from the Cupcake-A-Thon!

In addition to being “pretty in pink” (love those cute wrappers!), these strawberry lemonade cupcakes turned out to be oh-so-berry delicious. The cupcakes were perfectly light and moist, with a great balance of the sweet strawberries and oh-so-slight tang of the lemon juice. But the fresh strawberry buttercream was what had everyone at the concert talking. They loved it!! And I’m still getting emails for the recipe…so I suppose that’s a good sign. :)

So in summary, here are the three cupcake recipes from the evening! I hope you enjoy them!

• Mayan Chocolate Cupcakes with Cocoa-Cinnamon Buttercream
• Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream
• Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
(Adapted from Hello Cupcake and Chow)

Ingredients:

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25 oz.) strawberry cake mix
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) lemon juice
• 4 eggs

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup pureed strawberries (made from fresh or frozen strawberries)
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 – 4 cups powdered sugar (adjust to achieve desired consistency)

Method:

To Make Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

Add the cake mix, buttermilk, oil and lemon juice to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until moistened, about 30 seconds. Add eggs one at a time, until the batter is well-mixed. Increase speed to high and beat until thick and fluffy, 2 minutes longer.

Pour or scoop the batter into the paper liners until they are 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cupcakes cool on a wire rack.

To Make Frosting:

Cream butter in an electric mixer on medium-speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Then add in the strawberries, vanilla and lemon juice, and mix on low-speed until combined. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and mix until combined. Then beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, another 3-5 minutes. (Add in more powdered sugar if consistency is too thin.)

***To frost 24 cupcakes as I did (pictured above), I’d recommend making a double batch of the frosting. But if you’re just spreading it on with a knife, one batch should be plenty! :)

Ali’s Tip:

I used the Wilton 1M tip to frost these, and the cupcake wrappers are Wilton “Snappy Stripes”. My local Jo-Ann carries them, or you can purchase them online.