Lemonade Cupcake Recipe

I mentioned that I made Lemonade cupcakes for my 5 year old’s birthday a few weeks ago and I wanted to get the recipe posted for y’all!  This was such a fun treat and it was a huge hit at her Sunshine birthday party.

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We had a bakery lemon cake and I was worried it wouldn’t be enough so I made these cupcakes as well- mostly for the children.  I was really surprised that the feedback on the cupcakes was better then on the professional birthday cake!  I hope you give these a shot- I am all about the chocolate but on a hot summer day a bright citrus-y cupcake sounded perfect.



I used a box mix for the actual cupcake in lemon flavor, added a bit of homemade lemon curd to the center of the cupcake and then a delicious creamy lemon buttercream frosting on top. I garnished with a little twist of lemon and a lemonade candy.   If you do garnish with lemon just make sure you pick up organic lemons since that peel is going into the cupcake frosting. Since they are lemonade cupcakes I added a little straw to the side which makes these a little different and very fun.

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Here is the recipe:


Author: My Frugal Adventures.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time:  30 mins

Cook time:  25 mins

Total time:  55 mins

Serves: 12



Ingredients

• 1 box lemon cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Supreme)

Frosting:

• 4oz cream cheese, chilled and cubed
• 1½ cups butter, chilled and cubed
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
• 1 cup Lemon Curd*

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Instructions

1. Prepare cupcakes according to box directions.
2. While those are cooking get started on your lemon curd.
3. You can use store bought lemon curd or make your own* in a few minutes in the microwave.
4. The curd comes together in minutes in the microwave but it needs several hours to chill so you might make that ahead of time- up to a week is fine.
5. For the frosting:
6. Add butter to your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat until nice and smooth.
7. Add the cream cheese and mix until well incorporated and smooth.
8. Next slowly add the confectioners sugar ½ cup at a time- scraping the bowl down as you go.
9. You want to start tasting the frosting at 2cups to see if you need to continue to add more sugar.
10. I often find 2½ cups of sugar is enough but you can add more to get the right flavor and consistency.
11. You can also add a teaspoon of vanilla to the frosting if you like or a teaspoon of lemon juice. This is totally optional and up to your personal taste. Set aside.
12. Once your cupcakes have cooled, take your frosting tip or a small spoon and cut a small hole into the center of the cupcake.
13. Fill with the lemon curd.
14. Frost as usual and garnish with sliced lemon or yellow sprinkles or yellow Jelly beans.

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So the lemon curd filling adds a lot to these cupcakes in my opinion.  It is so easy to make in the microwave but it does need several hours to chill.  You can make it in advance with the easy Lemon Curd Recipe here or you can buy it in a jar at gourmet food stores.



There might be some fabulously professional way to scoop out a little of the cupcake inside to fill with your lemon curd but I just used a melon baller that worked perfectly.  Discard the center of the cupcake (or pop it in your mouth- you deserve it with all this hard work.)



Add your lemon curd into a Ziploc bag and cut the tip of the bag to easily fill the cupcakes.  You can also just spoon it straight from the jar- that is what I did.

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And frost as usual- add your garnish and then cut a cute straw into thirds and stick it inside.  So cute and so fun!  To frost I was out of piping bags and just cut the tip off a Ziploc and used that to create swirls.



If you decide to make these please come back and let me know what you think!  These are absolutely perfect for picnics this summer or BBQs or bake sales!  I think they would be fun for end of year class parties as well!

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More From My Frugal Adventures:

• Fruit Infused Sparkling Water
• Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Bread
• Delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread Recipe