Mixed Berry Lemonade {Sunflower} Cupcakes

I know - the title makes you wonder - but I’m so excited to tell you about these cupcakes! They turned out so perfectly (if I do say so myself) and were such a hit! I can’t tell you how fulfilling it is to ghave an idea that comes together, start to finish, and makes other people happy!!

 I made these for a dear friend of our family whose birthday we were celebrating. This lady and her husband are such a huge part of our lives and we are so thankful to know them! Linda is an awesome woman and a huge encouragement and blessing in our lives. Her husband Jim is like a second dad to us and a really great friend to my dad! She is currently going through her third, yes THIRD, bought with cancer and her attitude is just amazing! She knows that God is in control and, while she certainly has her moments, she takes everything in stride and faces it head on – with God leading the way!! I know she has to be scared, but her faith is what gets her through. I’m just so humbled by her. So, when Jim said he wanted to do something for her birthday, I was in! And I knew exactly what I wanted to try. Her favorite flowers are Sunflowers so here’s where my mind went…

Ah! They're just so pretty...I love them!  

Anybody recognize those liners? I got them from Pick Your Plum and love them!! Check out the link on my side bar under "affiliates" for more of their awesome goodies!

Here's how I made these beauties...

Mixed Berry Lemonade Cake

1 box white cake mix

4 egg whites

1 cup water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup frozen (can use fresh) blueberries

1/2 cup frozen (can use fresh) strawberries

2 tablespoons blackberry jam

Juice and peel of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare cupcake pans. Mix all ingredients in mixer until just combined. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full with batter and bake until springy to touch or tester inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool.

Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, cold

1 teaspoon vanilla

juice and peel of 1/2 lemon (or more depending on desired taste)

yellow gel food coloring

approx. 4 cups confectioner's sugar

Cream butter, shortening, and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, lemon juice and peel and mix until combined. Add sugar, one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. If you need more than 4 cups for consistency, add extra a little at a time until you get it where you want it. Add enough food coloring to reach desired color and keep icing cool until ready to use.

You'll be happy to know that I actually took pictures of the flower making process! Now you can see what I'm talking about as I explain the procedure....yay me! 

Step 1

Lightly frost cupcake with a small amount of icing and drop about a teaspoonful of blackberry jam in the center. It's ok if the jam runs because you're going to cover this up with the petals. 

Step 2

Around the outside edge of the cupcake, use a star tip to pipe a row of petals all the way around. To make each petal, press on your piping bag so that the icing starts to come out of the tip, stop pressing, and pull away from cupcake. If you're not comfortable with piping, you may want to practice a few times on parchment or wax paper. Once you get it down and feel comfortable, you can scrape the icing up and mix it back into the bowl to use on the cupcakes (waste not, want not). ;)

Step 3

Last, but certainly not least, move in on the cupcake and pipe a second row of petals, making sure to completely cover the edge of the jam so that you have a round center. Try to place this second row in between the petals of the first row. Voila! A beautiful sunflower cupcake!!

Even if you don't make the sunflowers (although I don't know why you wouldn't...they're so perfect for summer) please try this recipe! It's so delicious and refreshing this time of year. My dad said that these are his favorite so far and, even though I started with a box mix, I still feel accomplished because I doctored it up so much. 

Also, two things you may have noticed. First, A Cupcake Love Affair is now accepting sponsorships through Passionfruit Ads. If you're looking for a place to advertise your blog or shop, stop by my Sponsor page and check out all the options! Second, you may have noticed that my followers count is steadily heading toward the big 200 (well, for me, that's big)! Between GFC and Bloglovin', almost 200 readers are following along with us and I have to tell you that that's really exciting for me! I never thought that many people would be interested and, yet, you all just keep on showing up and coming back for more. Thank you! I've decided to do another giveaway when I reach 200 so spread the word. What will I be giving away? Let me just say this...I won't be the only one giving something away and the number of "bloggy" friends who have volunteered to participate...well, you don't want to miss this!! If you're a fellow blogger and would like to participate in the giveaway, shoot me an email on my contact page.

I hope you're all having a fantastic summer! Until next time, happy reading and more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!