Limoncello Cupcakes

Limoncello Cupcakes! Perfect dessert for a summer party!

When Ian and I moved to our town we were both fresh out of college and experiencing being financially independent from our parents for the first time. Long gone were the days where I could pack up my clothes to do laundry at my parents’ house or tag along on grocery shopping trips!

Limoncello Cupcakes! Perfect dessert for a summer party!

Luckily, Ian and I both were offered jobs that allowed us to be financially stable, but I still found myself searching for inexpensive date night experiences. One of my favorite discoveries was a little bakery in town that made gourmet cupcakes with unique flavors. After an afternoon of ridding our bikes along the river we would stop by the bakery and share a delicious cupcake. For less than $5 we could enjoy an afternoon date that felt like we were splurging – that’s how good these cupcakes were!

Limoncello Cupcakes! Perfect dessert for a summer party!

Here I am, three years later, and I still love those bike ride/cupcake dates! However, when I brewed a batch of Limoncello I had an idea – why not try my hand at baking my own batch of gourmet cupcakes?! After some trial and error, I finally nailed the recipe down and believe these fresh limoncello berry cupcakes would compliment any summer party dessert table! Better yet, bake a batch of these cupcakes and gift them to a recent grad!

Limoncello Cupcakes

 

Ingredients:

  • A box of white cake mix and the required ingredients listed on the back
  • Limoncello
  • 3 Tbs. grated lemon peel
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup softened butter
  • 2 Tbs. lemon juice
  • 24 mini lemon wedges and fresh raspberries for decoration

Recipe:

  • Prepare the cake by following the cake instructions on the back of the box and swap out the require amount of water with limoncello
  • Fold in the grated lemon peel
  • Place liners in each cupcake tin and fill half full with batter
  • Bake per box instructions
  • While cupcakes are cooling make the butter cream frosting by beating the softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until well combined
  • Add lemon juice to the frosting 1 Tbs. at a time until you reach your desired consistency
  • Pipe onto each cupcake and top with a fresh raspberry and lemon wedge

Month in Review: May 2016

Month in Review: May 2016

It’s been a few months since I ended my “Friday Favorites” series, and to be honest, I’ve started to miss the little snapshots of our life I used to shared on the blog. So after much thought, I’ve decided to start a new series called “Month in Review.” This way I won’t be cluttering your blog feed with weekly behind-the-scenes posts, but once a month you can catch up with what Ian and I have been up to. I hope you enjoy!

Month in Review: May 2016

May started off with an exciting weekend trip to New Orleans. We spent our time listening to jazz, wandering around the Garden District, and savoring delicious Southern food.

Month in Review: May 2016

Month in Reveiw: May 2016

My sister also graduated from the UW-Madison School of Educated this month! She is going to be an amazing teacher and the whole family gathered together on campus to celebrate this milestone in her life. It was definitely a chilly day though (it even hailed during the ceremony!) so we were all a bit blue by the end of the day!

Month in Review: May 2016

Ian and I decided to take advantage of our weekend in Madison so we booked tickets to see The Lion King at the Overture Center. This was our second time seeing the show and we both agreed that it was just as magical as the first time!

Month in Review: May 2016

The following weekend Ian and I were back in the Madison area to celebrate my high school friend’s wedding. I can’t express how lovely it was to catch up with so many childhood friends and dance the night away.

Month in Review: May 2016

I’ve secretly (well, maybe not so secretly) always wanted to be a ballerina, so I tend to drag Ian to a few ballets every year. Luckily, Ian doesn’t put up too much of a fuss and he even surprised me with tickets to see Alice. We had to battle UWM graduation traffic to get to the performing arts center, but it was all worth it to see such a beautiful ballet. The choreography and sets were outstanding!

Month in Review: May 2016

For the past week the weather channel had been reporting a rainy Memorial Day weekend. I had been planning on soaking up the sun over the long weekend, so to say I was bummed with the idea of being cooped up inside would be an understatement. Luckily, the weather patterned shifted and we were blessed with a few afternoons of sunshine. Ian and I took full advantage of the nice weather and enjoyed a picnic by the lake, strolled along the city deck, and attended the local firework show.

I hope you all had a wonderful month! If you liked this post, please give it a “like.” Then I will continue to share little snippets of our day-to-day life each month!

Dulce de Leche

Dulce de Leche recipe! Learn how to make this at home!

My first introduction to dulce de leche – a thick, rich, caramel-like spread – was when a friend brought me home a jar from South America. At the time I was still living at home with my parents, so I had to strategically hide it behind boxes of noodles in the pantry to save it from being devoured by my siblings.

Dulce de Leche recipe! Learn how to make this at home!

All too soon, my cherished jar of dulce de leche was empty. That was the last time I enjoyed this sweet spread until I was scrolling through Pinterest and I discovered you can easily make it at home. Miracles do come true!

Dulce de Leche recipe! Learn how to make this at home!

You can drizzle the dulce de leche on pancakes, ice cream, fresh fruit, or anything your heart desires! I’m convinced it tastes delicious on everything. Here is how you can make this simple spread at home!

Dulce de Leche

Ingredients:

  • Can of sweet and condensed milk

Recipe:

  • Peel the label off the can of sweet and condensed milk
  • Place the can of sweet and condensed milk in a large pot
  • Fill the pot with water until it covers the can completely (have a good inch of water covering the top of the can)
  • Place the pot on the stove and simmer for 3 hours
  • Keep an eye on the pot as it simmers, adding more water as needed to keep the can submerged in water
  • Remove the can from the pot and let cool before opening
  • Store the dulce de leche in an air tight container for up to one month in the fridge