Hi guys! Are you getting ready for Valentine’s Day? We are. Addy and Paisley have to bring Valentine’s cards to every kid in their class. They don’t even fill out the “to”, only the “from”. I think that really sucks the fun out of it. You can’t get excited that a certain someone gave you a card, and totally read into it which one they gave you. You also can’t get grossed out that someone gave you one….but I guess that is the point. Nobody’s feelings get hurt.
We are making “mustache” lollipops. They will have a card attached to them that says:
I “mustache” you a question….Will you be my Valentine?”
I didn’t make that up. That is all over the interwebz. I am a horrible copycat;) But the girls have had fun making them, so that is all that’s important.
Anyhoo….Today I am going to show you a really cute Valentine’s dessert, as well as a quick treat you can make to give away to friends and family. The dessert is individual lemon and raspberry layer cakes. I love layer cakes, but they are kind of pain to make. These weren’t. Plus, they are probably the cutest thing ever. And so, so easy. Let me show you….
The cakes were made from a boxed lemon cake mix. Boxed cake mixes make baking so much easier, and they taste great when you dress them up with a couple extra twists. I also used lemonade, oil, eggs and lemon zest.
I beat together the cake mix with lemonade, eggs and oil. I used lemonade in place of the water that the box calls for. I never use water. That is your chance to spice the cake up any way you want!
I also zested a lemon into this. You can use the lemon juice instead of lemonade….but you would definitely need more than one lemon to get a full cup of juice. It was easier to use lemonade;)
I baked these cupcakes in a muffin pan, but I didn’t use cupcake liners. I greased each cavity really well before I put the batter in. I filled these about 2/3 full. I baked these according to the box directions.
When the cupcakes came out of the oven, I set them aside to cool. Once they are cool, I will take them out of the pan. In the meantime, let’s make the frosting.
This frosting is a raspberry cream cheese frosting. I love raspberries and lemon together. I think they are a great match, plus….this will be a really pretty pink frosting which is perfect for Valentine’s Day.
I used raspberry preserves, butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and I garnished with fresh raspberries.
If you don’t like raspberry, you could totally use strawberry preserves instead.
I started by beating together the softened cream cheese and the softened butter. Once that was smooth, I beat in the preserves.
Then, I slowly beat in the powdered sugar. You will need a lot of powdered sugar. The preserves will make the frosting loose, so you need to stiffen it up with sugar.
As for the cupcakes, once they were out of the pan….I cut each in half. I will use 3 pieces for each layer cake. In case you can’t do the math on that….3 cupcakes will make 2 layer cakes. If you are using a top piece for a middle piece….just cut enough off to make it flat. Does that make sense to you?
Cutest thing ever! And everyone gets their own! Cutting a layer cake can be difficult, but there is no cutting with these! I am so in love with these…I can’t even tell you!
Feel free to garnish with as many raspberries as you want! I used a lot because I am a raspberry freak. I always tell myself that the more fruit I eat…the better. It will keep me from getting scurvy since I try not to eat vegetables.
My quick little treat that is prefect for giving away is……
Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows!!
These are so crazy easy. All I did was dip marshmallows into melted candy coating and put them on sticks. Then, I sprinkled cute Valentine sprinkles all over them before the candy coating hardened.
Like so:
I’ve told you before about my love for treats on sticks, but my complete dislike of cake pops. These marshmallows fit the bill. Not only are they yummy, but they are super cute. And easy!
I was lucky enough to find heart shaped marshmallows, but regular marshmallows are cute too.
Like this:
Cute!
Wouldn’t you love to give these away for Valentine’s Day? Everyone will be impressed. They won’t realize how easy it was for you to make them.
Peepers loved them! I think your kids will too.
Have a great weekend! I will see you all on Tuesday!
Lemon and Raspberry Layer Cakes
1 boxed lemon cake mix
Eggs and oil as directed on box
1 cup lemonade instead of water
The zest of one lemon
Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 stick (or ½ cup) of butter, softened
½ cup raspberry preserves
4 cups powdered sugar
Pre-heat oven according to package directions.
In a large bowl, beat together cake mix, oil, eggs, lemonade and lemon zest with a hand mixer for 2 minutes.
Pour batter into greased muffin pan, filling 2/3 the way full.
Bake according to package directions. When done, set aside to cool.
When cooled, run a knife around the edges of cakes to help remove them. Slice each cupcake in half, horizontally.
Using 3 slices of cake per layer cake, spread frosting on bottom and middle layers, then tops. Garnish with raspberries.
Frosting:
Beat together cream cheese and butter with a hand mixer until smooth. Beat in preserves. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.
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