Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I made these delightfully fruity cupcakes for our fourth of July barbeque with our family. We don't pop fireworks or anything but since everyone is off from work, we wanted to get together and of course play with Ibraheem. My nephew is nine months old now and loves to be the center of attention. <3 

Should I even mention anymore that I got these from Pinterest? I think that's the last time I'll say it. Sorry, I know. Just assume every recipe is from there from now on. But I used a different buttercream.

Also sorry that these pictures are so dark. I should have brightened them up a bit. I really should get some kind of lamp that can evenly light up the table when I take photos.

Anyway, these were very easy to make because it is a doctored up boxed cake recipe. They came out very moist, to where you can make them the same day. You don't need them to sit overnight.

The description for these really fits. They aren't just a regular lemon cupcake. It tastes like a sweet, fruity glass of lemonade. Yum yum yum.

The frosting came out perfect too. My mom found some raspberry extract (kind of hard to find!) a few months ago so I was happy to finally use it. It helps deepen the raspberry flavor. 

The original recipe made these into mini cupcakes, but they are very light so I'm glad I made them full size.

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Recipes adapted from Your Cup of Cake (cake) and My Baking Addiction (buttercream)

Lemonade Cake

1 box white cake mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large egg whites (do not use the yolks!)

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream
zest of 2 lemons

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line pans with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl combine oil, egg whites, buttermilk, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and extracts until smooth. Stir in cake mix until smooth.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 10-14 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Raspberry Buttercream

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 stick salted butter – room temperature

1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature

1/2 cup shortening*

2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract

2 teaspoons raspberry extract*

3 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Blend the raspberries in a food processor or blender until it is pureed and then push through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. It should now equal about 1/2 cup after it has been strained.

Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add extracts and raspberry puree and combine well.

Gradually beat in the sugar and mix thoroughly after each addition.