raspberry cupcakes

Love these! I made them last week for my parents anniversary and they were delish. And they actually made a full 24 cupcakes plus a few. Recipe source babble. I made a few alterations-I added the juice of an additional lemon and the next time I make these I will add the zest of the second lemon as well. My frosting was a half batch of the frosting recipe listed below mixed with some strawberry cream cheese and a few scoops of vanilla frosting from the can. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do when she doesn't have enough butter. I'll be making these again!

Lemonade Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting

1 cup butter,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 1 lemon
1 cup of 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 until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. 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.  Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.  Makes 2 dozen plus a few.

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.