Lemon Berry Treats

Can someone please tell me how this summer flew by so quickly?? It’s so true that the older you get, the faster time goes. I don’t like it one bit! The only solace I find is that with the end of summer comes the arrival of Fall, which means an entirely new palette of flavors to work with. Not to mention all the holidays I will be baking for. When I think of Fall I think of carrot cake, and spice cake, and oatmeal cookies, and all sorts of “feel-good” homemade treats. While I am excited to start baking new flavors of the season, I am sad that I have to say goodbye to the whims of summer fun.

I created this recipe for Lemon Berry cupcakes because to me, it truly represents all things summer. Enjoy the recipe!

Lemon Berry Cupcakes decorated with a pink and black theme for a bridal shower.

Lemon Cupcakes (the quick version)  

1 Box of Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Cake Mix

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 1/3 cup of water

1 lemon

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

(**For 100% homemade cupcakes, I enjoy this lemon cake recipe: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/lemon-cream-cupcakes/Detail.aspx**)

Directions

1. Prepare the batter according to the directions on the back of the box.
2. Add 1 tsp of vanilla to the batter, mix well
3. Add ¼ cup of lemon juice
4. Add lemon zest of one medium size lemon
5. Mix all ingredients together and pour into baking cups.
6. Bake as directed on the box.

Berry Filling

1 box of strawberries (at least 15 strawberries)

1 bog of blueberries (2 ½ cups)

3 cups of sugar

¼ cup of cornstarch

Directions

1. Wash the berries
2. Cut the strawberries
3. Place berries in a bowl and mash them together (I used a potato masher)
4. Pour berries into a pan and add 3 cups of sugar.
5. Stir until combined
6. Let boil (stirring occasionally) for 7-10 minutes until it starts to thicken.
7. Turn to low heat and add cornstarch (be sure to add the cornstarch to cold water before adding it to the hot mixture – reference the directions on the side of the cornstarch box)
8. Remove from heat, let cool completely

Berry filling - yum!!

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
• 8 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (about 2 lbs.)
• 2 tablespoons milk

 Makes: About 5 1/2 cups of icing.

 In medium mixer bowl, cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add sugar one cup at a time and milk. Mix well. Beat on high until smooth (only 30 seconds to 1 minute). Thin to ice cake smooth; use full strength for piping borders.

NOTE: Do not use light cream cheese or butter substitute. If margarine is used, icing will be softer.

Now, for the fun part! Use an apple corer (or a small knife) to carve out little holes in each cupcake – don’t throw away the part of the cupcake you remove, you will need to use it to fill the hole once the filling has been inserted.

Once you have a hole in each cupcake, fill the cupcake with berry filling. It is easiest to put the filling in a piping bag (a Ziploc bag will work too). Be sure you don’t  overfill the cupcakes. Once filled – cover the hole with the piece of cupcake you removed.

Pipe cream-cheese frosting on the cupcake and decorate as desired.

Cupcakes should be refrigerated.

Enjoy!! Till Next time, stay sweet. xoxo