Bomb Pop Cupcakes

Since we had parties to attend for Independence Day I was in charge of cupcakes. I decided these bomb pop cupcakes would be perfect for the kids. 

I remember as a child waiting for the ice cream truck to come along. It was a real treat when we could get a bomb pop popsicle and not just one of regular 25¢ popsicles. Sadly, my children probably won't have that experience since we don't buy anything from the ice cream truck around here. He seems pretty shady. 

While these were great for the 4th of July, I think they're just an all around great summertime cupcake, so let's make some shall we? Here's everything you need for the cake part. Pretty easy, right?

Mix all of those ingredients together and bake according to the package directions. Aren't they pretty?

Here's the fun part. Take this Jell-O and mix it with boiling water.

Then get your injector out. Fill it with the Jell-O mixture.

Then start injecting your cupcakes. They'll love it. I love to inject cupcakes. If you do to you should try these Cherry Limeade Cupcakes and Margarita cupcakes too!

Then make your frosting. Divide it into three bowls. Add the raspberry, lime, and cherry extracts.

Do you your first layer of frosting in blue.

Frost white on top of the blue.

Add a dollop of red on top of the white.

Now add a popsicle stick and you have a bomb pop cupcake! Pretty fun, huh?

The kids LOVED these cupcakes and the people who have had these popsicles said they really did taste similar.

Bomb Pop Cupcakes

Cupcake:

• 1 Box Lemon Cake Mix 
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Amount of oil called for on box
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice

Preheat oven to 350˚. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners and set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, buttermilk, oil, and lime juice. Mix on low speed with an electric mixer for about 30 seconds or until well combined.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and increase mixer speed to medium. Beat for 2 minutes.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter and bake for about 15 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched.

Remove from oven and let pans cool on wire racks.

In a medium bowl, stir together:

• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 (4 serving size) box Raspberry Jell-O

Once cupcakes have cooled, remove from pans and poke holes in the tops with a wooden skewer or if you have an injector of some sort fill it with Jell-O mixture. Inject Jell-O mixture into cupcakes, allowing it to soak into the holes.

FROSTING:

• 3 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cherry extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoon raspberry extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoon lime extract or lime juice
• blue gel food coloring
• red gel food coloring

wooden popsicle sticks for garnish (optional)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and milk on low speed until barely combined. Increase to medium speed and mix until well blended. 

Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Measure one cup of frosting into a bowl. Split the remaining frosting evenly into two other bowls.

Add the cherry extract and desired amount of red color to the bowl with only one cup of frosting. In another bowl, stir the lime juice into the frosting. In the other, add the raspberry extract and desired amount of blue color. 

Pipe the blue raspberry frosting on the cupcakes, followed by the lime and cherry frosting.  Insert a popsicle stick in the middle of the cupcakes.

**Depending on how high you want to pipe the frosting on your cupcakes, you may want to double the frosting recipe.

Adapted from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.