strawberry cupcakes with lemon icing

 took a break today from all the sewing Ive been doing to make cupcakes. I wish I could say I had something really cool to share with everyone, but all Ive got are small padded blankets for the humane society's shelter, and they aren't exactly perfect! I am doing them in a hurry, and as bad as this may sound, the dogs and cats that just got neutered and spayed aren't going to care if the lines are crooked or not.... Ive made them with flannel and fleece, so they're soft, and definitely padded as per their request. It was a volunteer project that seemed easy at first, but after 20, I wish I were sewing curtains for my kitchen instead.

So to relieve my stress I baked cupcakes. I meant to make them to welcome spring last weekend, but as I was spring "cleaning" my kitchen, I entirely forgot about the official arrival of spring in the midst of my paper chaos... I made strawberry with lemon icing, and boy have they eased some of the stress!!! Just the mixing and the smell during baking was enough to comfort, but of course I had to have one to try them out.

Ok so I had two....

Here's the recipe:

Preheat oven to 350*
Grease or line a cupcake tin with paper cups, or 2-3 cake tins for a 2-3 layer cake

You'll need a basic white cake mix, either from scratch or a box

1 small package of strawberry jello
About 1 cup of fresh or frozen strawberries
1/2 c. oil
4 eggs

Combine your cake mix with other 4 ingredients, making sure the strawberries are sort of cut up and mixed in. Bake for about 20 minutes, checking 2-4 minutes before the timer goes off for doneness.

For the icing:

1 box of powdered (confectioners) sugar
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp butter, softened
1 tbsp milk
3 tbsp lemon juice

Mix first 3 ingredients together, add lemon juice and mix. If its too thick, add a little bit of milk or more lemon juice to get the consistency you would like, too thin, add more powdered sugar, a little at a time. Just to warn you, this is a sweet frosting and a little bit goes a long way! Its not meant to be a thick frosting. To insure a smooth top, refrigerate for a bit, then frost. Add sprinkles before frosting sets, otherwise it will be impossible to add them. 


Enjoy!!