Cupcakes Week 48

Sweet Tooth? Child of the 80s? Or maybe you watch Toddlers and Tiaras like I do, and crave a pixie stick afterward. These are for you

Pixie Stick Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix
12 ounces mixed berry 7-Up*
1 small envelope each cherry, orange, grape and berry blue (or tropical punch) Kool-Aid drink mix
Pixie Frosting (recipe & ingredients follow)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin tins with about 15-18 paper liners and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat together the cake mix and 7-Up... that's it! No eggs, no oil--nothing! Just soda and mix. Beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Spoon about 3/4 cup of batter into two separate small bowls (3/4 cup batter per bowl). Stir in one packet of grape mix into one small bowl, and one packet of the berry blue mix into the other small bowl until each bowl is blended and flavored. If desired, tint the batter with purple or blue food coloring to enhance the color.

3. Put a heaping Tablespoon of white batter into each muffin tin. Then, top the white batter with one small teaspoon each of grape and berry blue batter. Using a sharp knife, swirl the grape, berry blue and vanilla batters together very lightly. Bake for approx. 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with light moist crumbs. Cool completely.

Now make your Pixie Frosting!

Pixie Frosting

2/3 cup butter, softened
2 tsp lemon juice
About 4 cups powdered sugar
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and lemon juice until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add powdered sugar, about one cup at a time, until light and fluffy. Divide frosting evenly among two bowls.

2. Stir half a packet of cherry drink mix into one bowl, and half a packet of orange drink mix into the other until combined. Portion frosting among two piping bags and pipe orange frosting onto cooled cupcakes and top with cherry frosting. If desired, sprinkle frosted tops with more powdered drink mix or Pixie Stick powder for an extra pucker punch.

**Note: if you can't find mixed berry 7-Up, substitute it with 12 ounces (1 can) of regular or cherry-flavored 7-Up. I like the lightness soda adds to cake mix and the mixed berry flavor adds just a subtle sweetness to the cake that is so good.