Recipe: Raspberry Lemonade Poke Cupcakes

When it comes to cupcakes, I’m normally a straight chocolate fan. My oldest son is not a huge chocolate fan though (I know. I have no idea how he’s related to me) so for his 8th birthday he requested raspberry lemonade cake. It wasn’t until his party that we realized I’d made him a pink cake with pink icing but loved the way they tasted so much that he didn’t care what color they were.

This recipe uses a simple technique that involves poking the cake so you can add some extra flavor. The end result looks fantastic and the best part is it’s really simple to make.

Even though it wasn’t chocolate, this was still a pretty fantastic cupcake!

Ingredients

Cake:

1 box raspberry jello (4 oz)
1 cup hot water
1 box white cake mix
1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed (frozen limeade would be fantastic in this too)
1/4 cup of water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 egg whites

Icing:

1 package of cream cheese, 8 oz
1 stick salted butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Fresh raspberries

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Place cupcake wrappers into a cupcake pan and spray them with non-stick spray. I used paper wrappers but you may be better off using foil wrappers since the jello liquid seeps through a bit before it sets up.

To add some extra flavor (and color) this cake includes raspberry jello. Mix together the Jello mixture an hot water and stir until the powder has fully dissolved. Set that aside. You’ll need it in a minute

In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, 1/4 cup of the jello mixture, 1/4 cup of lemonade concentrate, water, egg whites, and oil. Spoon the cake mixture into the cupcake wrappers so they are evenly filled and bake them for 18-20 minutes. You can check to make sure they are done by sticking a toothpick or fork in the top.

Now this is where it gets fun.

While the cupcakes are still warm, poke each cake with a fork several times.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining jello mixture and the remaining 1/4 cup of lemonade concentrate and mix together. Pour about 1 T of the jello on each cupcake. Be sure to pour the mixture so that some goes down each hole. This will give you better color in the finished cake and spread the flavor out more.

Place the cupcakes in the fridge to cool for about an hour.

How to Make the Frosting

If you want to stop there, you can just frost each cake with canned white frosting but it just wouldn’t be the same.

Mix together the butter and cream cheese. You can do this by hand but a mixer makes the job much easier. Gradually add in the powdered sugar until you get the texture that you want. Mix in the vanilla extract.

This frosting would be delicious just like that. It’s a great basic cream cheese frosting recipe. If you want to make it even better though, throw in a handful of fresh raspberries. If you don’t have any on hand, I really like the Thrive freeze dried raspberries as an alternative.

Top each cupcake with a fresh raspberry and serve. This are a huge hit at a children’s birthday party or perfect for any celebration.