Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes – a lightly lemony cupcake topped with creamy frosting with actual bits of fresh strawberry. Mmmmmmm!

This post is sponsored by Dixie Crystals. All opinions are my own.

I’m so excited to share this recipe with you today. When this event was announced with the theme of “Springtime Sweets,” this was the very first thing that popped into my head. And man, oh man, I’m so glad it did. 

Dixie Crystals joins me today as we celebrate the coming of Spring.

To begin, preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line a standard pan with cupcake papers. Set it aside for now.

In a bowl, sift together 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

In your mixer, beat a stick of unsalted, room temperature butter until it is fluffy. Mix in 1 cup of Dixie Crystals sugar and again beat until it is pale and fluffy.

Add in two room temperature eggs, one at a time, completely mixing in the first before you add the second. Again, you want to beat this until it is light and airy.

Zest an entire lemon. Reserve about a teaspoon of the zest for the frosting. Place all the rest of it in your mixing bowl.

And then take that lemon and juice the whole thing as well. You’ll need about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Add the juice to the mixing bowl and mix the juice and zest into the mixture.

Add in half of your flour mixture, mixing completely, being sure to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Next, you will need a half cup of buttermilk and a teaspoon of vanilla. Stir in the vanilla and half of the buttermilk. Mix completely. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and then the remaining buttermilk. Mix in each completely before the next, being sure to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula each time.

Scoop the batter into the pan, dividing evenly.

Bake this for 22-25 or until they test done with a toothpick. These do not get golden.

Transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Now for the frosting!

You will need two sticks (1 cup) of unsalted, room temperature butter.

You will also need some strawberry jam.

And some strawberries. Depending on the size, you’ll need 3 or 4 of them. Remove the “birdnests” from the tops.

Then, very finely, dice the strawberries. You will need about 1/3 of a cup of minced strawberries.

Beat the butter in your clean mixing bowl until fluffy. Mix in 2 1/3 cup powdered sugar. Mix it until smooth. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the strawberry jam, a half teaspoon of vanilla, along with your reserved lemon zest. Beat them until smooth and fluffy.

Now for the strawberries. Add those to the frosting and gently fold them in.

Place your frosting in a piping bag and top your cupcakes or spread it on with a spatula. Whichever you prefer.

If piping the frosting on, use a large tip so that the bits of strawberry can come through.

That’s it!

Enjoy your beautifully Springy cupcakes!

Find out more about Dixie Crystals and connect with them on their website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest!

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