Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Ingredients for the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) of room temperature butter
1 cup of sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup of 1% milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest

Ingredients for frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) of room temperature butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup strawberry jam (maybe a tad bit more if you like more strawberry flavor)
3 cups confectioners sugar
2-3 TBSP milk

Directions for the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 12 cupcake pan with liners
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Reserve
3. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy - about 1 minute.
4. Reduce the speed and add one egg at a time.
5. Add in vanilla, lemon juice, milk and lemon zest. Mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients just until combined.
6. Divide into cupcake papers evenly.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until tops of cupcakes are set and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Note: you are only making 12 cupcakes so you cupcake papers are pretty full.
7. Transfer to a cooling rack after 10 minutes and let cool for at least an hour before frosting.

Directions for the frosting:
1. Place butter, vanilla, and jam in a large bowl.  Mix with an electric mixer for about 1 minute, or until combined and fluffy
2. With the mixer on low, add one cup of confectioners sugar at a time. When you get to the second cup of sugar, you might need a TBSP of milk. Keep mixing.
3.  Add the last bit of confectioners sugar and another TBSP of milk.  Keep the beaters on and see how the consistency or the frosting is.  You don't want it to be too loose.  I used 3 TBSP of milk because I used a little extra strawberry jam and heaping cups of sugar.
4. Carefully spoon frosting into a plastic bag. Snip the end off to make a small opening in the bag.  Twist the top to make your own piping bag.  Swirl the frosting on the top of the cupcakes.

You bet I even have a wine pairing for these cupcakes!
Trumpeter
Chardonnay
Rutini Wines
2013
Mendoza, Argentina

Enjoy!