Cherry Summer

On a whim, I decided to take a cupcake adventure today. Afterall, it is summer, and warm days like this one deserve some sweet treats. So after making a trek down the street to the grocery store, I came up with these delightful sweets: Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

Summer is a time for fresh tastes and projects, and with Sonic Happy Hour on my schedule most evenings, I could think of nothing better than to infuse my favorite treat with the taste of summer. The recipe is fairly basic, and I'll provide it at the end. 

Start with a white cake mix, and add the limeade concentrate for the flavor. I got the cheap, store brand of both since I was doing quite a bit to them. I was most concerned with having a moist, fluffy cake, and this brand worked just fine.

I added the ingredients as instructed, but substituted half the water for 3/4 cup of the limeade concentrate.

The batter came out nice and fluffy in the end, which is just what I wanted.

And colored it pink!!

 While they baked, I made the frosting, for which you need two key ingredients.

           

                           

   

                       butter                 +            sugar                =     buttercream (yum!)


By the time I finished, the cupcakes were done. I opened the oven and found...

(they look orange, but they really turned out a nice cherry-pink)

And my final product...

And yummy too!

I put a little bit of green sugar on top, followed by a sour cherry candy. And that's that!!

Recipe

Cupcakes

1 white cake mix (makes 24-30 cupcakes)

1 can limeade concentrate (you will use 6 oz, or 3/4 cup)

3 egg whites

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

15 approx. drops Red food coloring

Frosting/Decor
1 lb/2 cups unsalted butter
6 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tsp vanilla
Green sugar
Red Sour Cherry Candy

Enjoy!