Lemonade Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting

Lemonade Cupcakes {with} Raspberry Frosting

Happy Spring Everyone! (Unless you live in the Midwest, and it is still winter, like me.)
 
I recently hosted a Sprinkle for my best friend, Kate.  She is having her second baby boy in June!  I decided to really go all out and bake some fresh, homemade cupcakes with some of her favorite flavors, Lemon and Raspberry.  They were such a huge hit!  Everyone was raving about how delicious they were and ask to take some home when they were leaving.  Such a fun experience!  A little tip when you are making the frosting:  You have the option to sift out the seeds from the raspberries after you have pureed them.  I definitely went with this option since I like smooth frosting and didn't want people to have to take seeds out of their teeth.  It was more time consuming than I thought so just make sure you plan accordingly!  Happy eating lovelies, enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
grated zest and juice of a lemon
1 cup milk, divided

Fresh Raspberry Frosting
1 cup fresh raspberries (or thawed from frozen)
1 cup butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F and line 24 muffin tins with paper liners.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture a third at a time, alternating with half the milk and half the lemon juice after each of the first 2 additions of flour. Beat until just combined.
Fill the prepared tins and bake for 20 minutes, until springy to the touch. Tip the cupcakes in their tins to help them cool. Let cool completely before frosting. If you like sprinkle with colored sugar. Makes 2 dozen.

Fresh Raspberry Frosting
In the bowl of a food processor, puree the raspberries until smooth. If you like, press the mixture through a sieve to get rid of the seeds.
In a medium bowl, beat the butter and half the sugar until smooth. Add the raspberry puree, then more sugar until you have a fluffy, spreadable consistency. Add a splash of water if necessary (a tablespoon or two).