Baby Shower Cupcakes

When friends asked me to make Pink Lemonade Cupcakes for a baby shower at work I have to admit that I was so excited. But my next emotion was a little bit of panic because I haven't done anything like that before. It's one thing to make cupcakes for my work friends and quite another to do something important like a baby shower!

I ended up making two batches because the first one only made 18 cupcakes (the 2nd batch made the same amount). I also decided that simply having pink cupcakes for a baby girl shower was not enough - I needed to make cupcake picks to put on them.

But ultimately, it's the cupcake that matters the most. I've seen several recipes for these cupcakes on the net, but ultimately I use the same one each time. It's tried and true and work friend approved!

PINK LEMONADE CUPCAKES

(adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride)

3/4 cup frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate, thawed (I use the large can to make a double batch)

White cake mix

3 egg whites

2 T vegetable oil

red food color

Mix the cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil and pink lemonade concentrate. Mix on low for 30 seconds, then mix on medium for 90 seconds (batter will be lumpy; do not overmix).

Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full with batter. Baket at 350 for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cupcake comes out clean. Removes the cupcakes and cool completely on a baking rack.

LEMON BUTTERCREAM ICING

3 cups + 3 T powdered sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2 T lemon juice

red food color

Mix the butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice and food color on low until combined. Mix on medium-high until the icing is fluffy and uniformly pink. Ice the cupcakes as you desire.

The picks were made using punches and QuicKutz dies. The paper was all StampinUp (white and pink pirouette) with a small kraft stick stuck between the two pieces of paper.

I'm really happy with how the whole thing turned out and most important of all, so was the new mama. I'm already thinking of other ideas for cupcake picks - too much fun to combine hobbies of cupcake baking and paper crafting!