mothers day recipe

Elderflower Lemonade Cupcakes

Posted on June 3, 2017 by Ruthanne

Elderflower syrup and fresh mint leaves make these cupcakes unique. The lemonade frosting on top makes them unforgettably delicious!

Just a few weeks ago I made Elderflower Lemonade that was amazing. Seriously- you need to try it! After making many batches of it for friends and family, it occurred to me that these flavors would make such good cupcakes! I experimented a bit with the cupcakes, and topped them with my famous lemonade frosting and YUM! I really liked them. A lot!

Plus they are so fun and springtime-y! The only special ingredient you’ll need is Elderflower syrup. I got mine on Amazon and you won’t want to skip this ingredient because it is the secret deliciousness behind this recipe. Plus, once you have it you can make the lemonade- and you will not regret it!!

Here is how we made these (printable recipe here):

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed white cake mix (plus eggs and oil to make according to package)
Elderflower syrup (about 1-2 cups depending on boxed mix)
1/4 cup finely chopped mint leaves
2- 8oz. packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened to room temp.)
1 packet (0.23oz.) of Kool-Aid Lemonade
1- 7oz. container Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
1/3 c. powdered sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip Topping (refrigerator temp)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees
Make cake mix according to package, but replace 1/2 of the required water with elderflower syrup (so if the mix calls for one cup of water, use 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of Elderflower syrup)
Bake according to package, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Cool on countertop.
Cream together cream cheese, lemonade and yellow food coloring until smooth.
Beat marshmallow creme and powdered sugar in and then fold in Cool Whip until completely smooth.
Place frosting in a large zip-top bag, fitted with a decorating tip, and keep in fridge until ready to frost.
Before frosting, use a toothpick to poke holes into the top of each cupcake (6-8). Use a pastry brush to generously brush the top of each cupcake with elderflower syrup, allowing it to soak into the holes.
Pipe lemonade frosting on the top of each cupcake and decorate as desired.
Keep in a loosely sealed container, refrigerated, for 2-3 days.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: These really are such a deliciously different flavor of cupcake. The mint with the lemon- and that yummy syrup… I love them! They are on my permanent list of spring cupcake options! I hope you get a chance to try them! 🙂 ~r

This lemonade frosting has been one of the biggest hits on this blog. It was originally created in 2011 for a Strawberry Lemonade Layer Cake, which is my most popular recipe- ever. This is a little sad to me since my photography in 2011 needed LOTS of improvement, and the photos are awful 🙂

I remade it (making the frosting a bit thicker) in 2012, and used it on cupcakes in 2013.

It is a go-to frosting recipe for sure. It actually tastes like lemonade, and as my friend Laura (the frosting-hater) says: “I love it- it tastes more like a creamy filling than a frosting.”

Spring recipes are SO FUN! Here’s a few more to try (click on photo to see recipe).

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Posted in Cupcakes and tagged cupcake, cupcakes, easter, easter cupcakes, easter dessert, elderflower lemonade, elderflower recipe, elderflower syrup, frosting with Kool-aid, frosting with marshmallow, Kool-aid cupcakes, Kool-Aid dessert, lemon mint cupcakes, lemonade cupcakes, lemonade frosting, lemonade recipe, mint leaves, mothers day, mothers day cupcake, mothers day recipe, spring dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Mom’s Amazing Coffee Cake!

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Ruthanne

This delicious coffee cake has hidden layers of cinnamon and pecans- and a yummy cream cheese frosting!

My mom used to make this delicious coffee cake whenever my grandparents (her mom and dad) would come to visit. I have great memories of sitting around the table having this with all of them and listening to all the “grown-up” talk. They were from Wisconsin, so a visit always meant a couple of days with us in Michigan. I’d get up early and take a long walk with grandpa and our overweight basset hound Max before breakfast, and return to a kitchen table full of family, laughter, and this coffee cake.

My grandparents lived very active and adventurous lives until they left us for heaven several years ago.

Mom, as those of you who keep up with this blog know, left us for heaven about a year and a half ago.

A friend sent me an article last week about 8 ways to celebrate Mother’s Day if your mom is in heaven. They were great ideas, and the very 1st one was, “Make her favorite recipe”. I think her favorite recipe was my grandma’s recipe for German Sauerbraten, but since desserts are my specialty, I decided on this coffeecake as my “remembering mom” recipe.

As my kitchen filled up with the smell of this baking, it made me smile. And remember.

Here’s how to make it: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:

1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
3 eggs
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Filling:

1 cup of finely chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
4 tablespoons of butter, melted
4 tablespoons of flour
2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Icing:

4 oz. (half a package) of cream cheese
4 tablespoons of butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
Dash of salt
2 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 cup of white chocolate chips, melted

DIRECTIONS:

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease/flour a bundt cake pan.
Cream butter and sugar together.
Add eggs and beat well.
Add flour, soda and salt. Mix well.
Add sour cream and vanilla and mix well. Set aside.

Filling:

Combine all ingredients until completely coated in melted butter.
Assemble cake: pour about 1/2 of batter into prepared bundt cake pan, sprinkle more than 1/2 of filling on batter, pour remaining batter over filling and then sprinkle remaining filling over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Cool and tip out of pan onto serving plate.

Icing:

Combine all ingredients except chocolate in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until smooth and fluffy.
Add melted chocolate and beat until smooth.
Spread over the top of the cooled coffee cake.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: Warm this up for a few seconds in the microwave before serving and YUM!!! You can keep this cake in an airtight container in the fridge and serve it for several days. I hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as ours did over the years!! ~r