Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
These Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes feature real lemons and strawberries
to create the perfect summer dessert!
This post may contain paid links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.
I’ve always been a bit of an entrepreneur. I guess I’m secretly hoping that I’ll discover the next million-dollar idea. (Aren’t we all?) When I was a kid growing up in Charleston, SC, I actually did strike a million-dollar idea. I sold lemonade on the street in front of my house. Ok, so maybe it wasn’t a million dollar idea, but it sure felt like it to an 8-year old kid! And maybe other kids in the area did the same thing…*shakes fist at the guy selling pink lemonade around the corner*
Seriously, though, lemonade stands were serious business back in the late 80’s in Charleston. In case you’ve never visited, Charleston is hot. And there are a lot of tourists. We lived downtown amid all of the gorgeous antebellum homes…which meant we had a steady stream of tourists walking by our house. Hot tourists. And nothing looks better than a cup of cold lemonade when you’re hot, right? I even had an agreement with the drivers of the horse carriages in Charleston. If they’d stop to let the folks on their carriage buy lemonade, then I’d give them a free glass. Like I said, the lemonade stand business in downtown Charleston was ruthless!
As I now live on a quiet cul-de-sac in upstate New York, I don’t think my lemonade stand business would be all that prosperous anymore. So instead I bake things. A lot of things. One of the most recent desserts to come out of the Spiced kitchen are these delicious Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes. And just like a glass of real lemonade, I didn’t rely on any artificial flavorings to make these cupcakes happen. The cupcakes owe their citrus-y flavor to lemon zest and lemon peel, and the frosting uses real strawberries. My wife actually called the strawberry frosting “the stuff that’ll make a bakery famous.” Yeah, it’s that good!
I can’t even begin to tell you how delicious these Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes are! They’re the perfect summer desert! In fact, they’re so good that I might have to start a Strawberry Cupcake Lemonade stand in front of my house. That’s my next million dollar idea! (If you mention that you saw this post, I’ll give you a discount on your first cupcake, too.)
Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Lemon Cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2¼ cups cake flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- zest of two lemons ~2 Tbsp
- juice of two lemons ~4-5 Tbsp
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 cup milk
- Candied Lemon Peel for garnish
For the Strawberry Frosting
- 1½ cups fresh strawberries stems and hulls removed
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2½-3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp lemon juice optional
- 1-2 Tbsp milk if necessary
Instructions
For the Lemon Cupcakes
- Grease and flour a muffin pan, or insert paper liners. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Using a countertop mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest; set aside.
- Whisk together the lemon juice, egg whites, and milk until fully combined.
- Add flour mixture to the bowl in 3 additions and liquid mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix on low speed after each addition until fully combined. (Tip: Don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl!)
- Fill each muffin cup or liner approximately 2/3 full.
- Bake at 350°F for 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool before frosting.
For the Strawberry Frosting
- Using a small food processor or blender, puree the strawberries until smooth.
- Transfer the strawberry puree to a small saucepan, and place over medium-low heat. Cook puree for 15 minutes (or longer—until about ½ cup left), stirring often to prevent it from burning. Remove puree from heat and let it cool completely.
- Meanwhile, using a countertop mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Once puree has cooled, add ½ cup of puree to the bowl; mix until well combined.
- Add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing fully after each addition. (Note: The amount of powdered sugar will depend on personal preference and the sweetness of the berries.)
- (Optional) Add the lemon juice and mix until fully absorbed. (Note: The lemon juice adds a wonderful tartness that cuts the sweetness of the frosting, if desired.)
- If necessary, add milk 1 Tbsp at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency.
- Frost cupcakes and garnish with candied lemon peel (optional).
Even as a child you were quite the entrepreneur!!! I am impressed you struck up a deal with the Charleston horse carriage drivers!
And I am just as impressed with this frosting – your wife might be right – this might be a million dollar idea!
Haha…I finally found a million dollar idea! Now I just need to figure out how to sell a million of these cupcakes. 🙂
Sooo, you live in a cul-de-suc, huh? Is it at least a vegan cul-de-sac? 😉
Just kidding man…
I’m fairly certain my GF would love one of those lemon cupcakes, especially with that strawberry frosting. She loves anything with lemon and strawberry. I’m saving this recipe for her birthday, it’s going to be such a big hit!
PS I’m predicting an easy win for both France and Germany today…
Hey, how did you know I live on a vegan cul-de-sac?? The cul-de-sac down the street is actually a paleo one…perfect for you! 🙂
And I agree with you on France and Germany…I think today’s matches will be fairly boring overall.
These cupcakes look amazing! Loving the sound of strawberry lemonade- delicious and perfect for summer. 🙂
Thank you so much, Jess!! 🙂
It sounds like you were quite the business mind at 8 yrs old! These cupcakes sound delicious! The strawberry lemon pairing just never gets old for me! I crave it as much in December as I do in July!
Hah…you give me too much credit! And I love strawberries year-round, too…it’s just that they are so much easier to find in the summer. I remember going with my mom when I was a kid to pick strawberries and we’d come back with a flat of berries like every week. It was awesome!!
This look delicious! I love strawberry and I love lemonade…why didn’t I think to combine these into a cupcake?! Guess, that is why I won’t have the next big idea. Haha Pinning
Hahaha! I don’t know if it’s such a huge idea, but I do know that it was delicious. The real question is if I can sell a million of these to make it my million dollar idea! 🙂
You were a business man at 8!! Impressive!!! I think you need to continue lol Love these cupcakes 🙂
Haha! What? Sell lemonade on my quiet neighborhood street in upstate NY? Will you at least come by and get a glass?? 🙂
Dude these look fantastic! Love that you were a little entrepreneur as a kid… I totally was also. I sold leaves to neighbors. LEAVES. And they were stupid enough to buy it, hahahaha. I also did bake sales and stuff like that. Never tried lemonade stand… guess you had the market cornered on that haha.
And man, these cupcakes look legit awesome! If only we were neighbors… I would take a few of these off your hands. Even if you did route for Belgium yesterday…
Seriously?? Leaves! I gotta know your secret, man. What did your pitch sound like? “Well, sir, I have this awesome collection of pretty leaves I picked up in your front yard. Want to give me money for them?” Haha!
And for the record, I wasn’t technically pulling for Belgium yesterday! The US…err, Tim Howard…did an amazing job and I’m sad to see them go home. But now that they’re playing Argentina next, you better believe I’m pulling for Belgium in the next round!
Just the other day I saw a kiddie and her lemonade stand! I haven’t seen that in while and thought it was a refreshing site…she’s out trying to make a buck instead of staying in to play video games. Kuddos to her…and you when you were a kiddo.
I’ll trade you this yummy cupcake for a sprinkle cookie! 😉
I always stop whenever I see kids selling lemonade! And when I see them on a back street doing it, it just makes me sad…I mean there might be 4 cars that will go by in an hour. But kudos to them for trying and not just sitting inside! And you’re on for the cookie-cupcake swap. I’ll toss the cupcake at you as you drive by! 🙂
Hmm, tossing of baked goodies might get tricky… there must be an easier way…for the sake of the cupcakes and cookies. 😉
Hahaha! That could get a bit messy…especially if my aim isn’t very good. You’ll be cleaning cupcake off the side of your car when you get to Lake George! 🙂 In all seriousness, if you’re driving by and want to grab lunch, I’d be down for that. I’ll bring treats! Of course, if you want to just get to vacay-time, then I won’t be offended one bit!
Hello. I just discovered your blog today. Delicious recipes.
One question for this recipe: you mentioned “whisking together the lemon juice, egg whites, and milk until fully combined” just whisking? no beating required.. just wish them with a regular whisk and add to batter. Sorry if this seemed a stupid question, it’s just I’ve never encountered such a recipe before.
Thank you
Hey Hala! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. 🙂 Yup, you’ve got it right. You do need to beat the actual batter, but for the step you mention here, all you need to do is just combine those 3 liquid ingredients. No need to beat them at this stage. I hope this helps…but let me know if you have any other questions!! Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy these cupcakes as much as we do!