How about a little sugar, sugar?

Sugar - you evil but oh, so sweet fiend!

It's a love/hate relationship.

I'm not sure what to call these cupcakes... I'm thinking they are the lazy ladies cupcake. I truly was lazy in the creation, preparation and baking of this sweet, shhhaha-weeeeet, creation.

Seriously, it was MEGA sweet. Don't like sugar? Diabetic? Health food freak? Close the lappy, shut down the screen, back away from the computer because these cupcakes will bring you no joy!

Okay, maybe just a little... especially for cutesy finished factor.

Here's a peek at the heinous ingredients:

I had heard about pink lemonade cupcakes but had not heard of the main feature ingredient in the recipe, lemonade concentrate. Lemonade concentrate? It read like it was a liquid because many recipes stated that it was to be used frozen... but my brain imagines it as a powder like 'Tang'... I don't believe I have ever seen lemonade concentrate here in Aussie-land. Feel free to leave a comment at the end of my post and enlighten me. 

Please? 

Can I get it anywhere in Australia?

Well the recipe pretty much goes like this (and please bear in mind lazy = very generalised and loosely thrown together instructions)

Place your box mix, instant custard pudding powder and half the packet of jelly crystals into your mixer bowl and stir to mix.

Add 2 lightly beaten eggs, a drop or two of pink food colour (totally optional as the jelly crystals will provide some colour), then add in a cup and a half of the creamy soda (or whatever flavour soda you choose to use... I might try a purple grape soda version next time after a convo with my SIL)

Blend in your mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides to ensure all ingredients are evenly combined.

Divide into patty pans or cups and bake in a moderate oven for approx 16 minutes.

Check out these super cute waxed patty cups:

My girls and I like pretty, pink things... so the pink cupcakes then got prettied up a little, and went from this:

To this: 

The icing again was a lazy lady recipe... you might have noticed my box mix came with a sachet of ready made frosting... well, I simply whipped it up some more in the mix master, added a little extra icing sugar and some fresh cream together with the remaining sugar crystals and whipped until the crystals had all dissolved and the frosting was light and smooth.

Then my girls and I got busy with a piping bag.

Ah, love. Now, I'll be honest and tell you that I'm not someone who really is a fan of packet or box mixes - whether it be for sweet cakes, breads, desserts, sauces, meals or whatever - I am so normally, totally a 'from-scratch' girl. This sugar abomination however was a nice and brief departure from my usual cooking ways. Whip some up - they couldn't be easier, or more loaded with all things sweet... well, actually, I had thought to sprinkle these cute delights with some rose coloured sugar crystals I had left from another baking escapade but I was already starting to freak about how much sugar was already in these babies!

So, there you have it. 

Cheers xo