Leprechaun Cupcakes | Kitchen Runway

Swirled lemon cupcakes with luscious lemon butter cream.

Okay, there is a good reason why my St. Patrick’s Day posts are after St. Patrick’s Day….I was really really sick last week and the time change really threw me for a loop. I did make all of these treats prior to the 17th for my friends and family to enjoy though.

I wanted to try my hand at making something festive in honor of leprechauns and pots of gold. I used a box mix to help me out because you know me with weeknight cooking/baking – I need to keep things simple to stay sane. It’s really the frosting that makes this cupcake and of course people were surprise to see a burst of color inside too. Enjoy!! Like the “Shamrock Jello Squares” you can change up the color scheme to play to the different season or theme.

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting

Ingredients:

1 box of lemon cake mix (prepare according to box)

Green food coloring (I used Wilton’s Gel Food Color)

1 lb of powdered sugar (sifted)

1 stick of butter (room temperature)

1 heaping tsp. of lemon zest

¼ C of fresh lemon juice

milk

Directions:

1) Prepare cake mix according to directions on box. Scoop out a cup of cake batter and place into a bowl. Add green food coloring to achieve the intensity that you wish. (I added about 15 drops).

2) Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Fill cupcake tins about 2/3 with the yellow batter. Spoon a couple of spoonfuls of the green batter on top of the yellow batter. Use a tooth pick and swirl the green batter into the yellow.

3) Bake according to box. Cool & frost.

Frosting:

1) Using a hand mixer, beat butter, powder sugar, lemon juice and zest until combined and fluffy. Add a little milk (Tbs at a time) to thin the frosting out to a spreadable consistency. You can add more lemon juice instead of milk if you want a more intense lemon taste.