Summertime is filled with family fun, cookouts, and refreshing treats. It’s my favorite time of the year.
With the unofficial kick-off to summer, Memorial Day, coming up you might be looking for a special sweet treat to make for your friends and family. These Cherry Limeade Cupcakes are the perfect summertime dessert – a real show stopper! You’re going to love how easy this Cherry Limeade Cupcake recipe is to prepare.
Cherry limeade is such a refreshing drink during the summer months. Flavored with fresh limes and maraschino cherry juice, these cupcakes are full of summer flavor. The cupcake recipe is a fan favorite.
Summertime. How sweet it is.
Most Cherry Limeade Cupcakes I have seen have a lime cupcake and cherry frosting, so I decided to do something a little different. I made cherry cupcakes flavored with maraschino cherry juice and Cherry 7UP, and topped them with a tangy lime frosting that is out of this world delicious.
These cupcakes have yet another special twist. Instead of poking a paper straw into them, like you often see, the sweet cherry goodness continues with Twizzlers Twists. I love that cherry flavor and think this edible option is way more fun than a paper straw.
Cherry Limeade Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cucpakes
- 15.25 ounce box white cake mix with NO pudding
- 3.4 ounce box of instant vanilla pudding
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice cherries reserved
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 12 ounces Cherry 7UP 1 can equivalent
- red food coloring optional
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 5-6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp grated lime zest
- green food coloring optional
- Twizzlers Twists cut in half
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Place cupcake liners in muffin pans.
- In a medium bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, combine and mix all ingredients on medium speed for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. If desired, stir in a few drops of red food coloring until batter is pink.
- Pour mixture into prepared muffin pan. Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcakes comes out clean. Let cool completely.
- Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Place butter in a large bowl and beat with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add 5 cups of powdered sugar, salt, lime juice, and lime zest. Mix until a thick and creamy consistency is achieved. Add more powdered sugar until the frosting is of a good spreading (or piping) consistency. Mix in a tiny amount of green food coloring if you’d like the frosting to have a green tint.
- Pipe or spread frosting atop cooled cupcakes. Top each cupcake with one of the reserved cherries. Poke one half of a Twizzlers Cherry Twist into the top of each cupcake, to resemble a straw.
These sound and look delicious! I was so glad that when I looked at the recipe, there was no cream cheese in the frosting. I hate cream cheese, but I love buttercream or whipped cream frosting. I will be making these. Thanks for leaving out the cream cheese.
These look so good. I can think of a party we are having soon where these would be perfect!
What a nice cool looking idea for an afternoon of kids over for a pool party!
Ohhhh…these look so good! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
You’re a genius! I have to share with my sister who makes cupcakes so often. What an incredible job you did!
I am so eager to make these. You did a beautiful and creative job. How did you get the ruffle effect – did you use a rose tip?
Wow, these look really delicious. I would love to make them for a birthday.
These are so pretty and sound so good. Nice twist!
These are so pretty! And I love the flavor combo!
Has anyone actually made these?