Mountain Dew Cupcakes & JOB UPDATE!

One will never know the maximum joy of licking the beaters until after being told you can't... Not that I had to be told. But it's common sense that when you work in a bakery you DON'T lick the beaters! At work I'm surrounded by cake mix, cookie dough, chocolate ganache, etc. all day. It's torture holding my tongue back from what it truly desires! (PS: I LOVE MY JOB!) So naturally when I got home today, I began my usual Tuesday cupcakes with an unusual sense of intensity. As soon as the cupcakes hit the oven, my heart became filled with satisfaction as I proceeded to lick every speck of batter off the beaters, spatulas, bowls, hands, elbows, and ice cream scoop. Oh the wonders of being a home baker! Anyways... let's get to the cupcakes! Mountain Dew Cupcakes won with 51% of the votes. Awesome! I used a recipe from Quirky Cupcakes (ya know, the genius behind Cupcake Hero!). I tweaked it just a bit because Mt. Dew is an orange based soda, and the recipe was solely lemon/lime. I cut back on some of the lemon/lime flavor and added orange juice concentrate. They came out great! I completely invented the frosting. I kinda made it up as I went along. I know if Natalie (from Bake & Destroy) reads this, she'll probably have a myocardial infarction when she sees the high fructose corn syrup cocktail that goes into it!

Ingredients...Ready to be baked!Cooling and smelling good!Citrus waiting to fulfill it's destiny...
A small scoop of frosting on each one...

(There are only 11 because one "accidentally" broke when I was taking it out of the pan)

Flatten out the top...Throw on some sprinkles... and BAM!
Mr. Mountain Dew Cupcake, welcome to the world.

So overall, these cupcakes do not taste like Mt. Dew... but as close as you can get without having access to the wondrous ingredients that make Dew so tasty! They are a delicious triple citrus cupcake. So suck on that.

Mountain Dew Cupcakes (adapted from Quirky Cupcake)
Makes 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup sugar (could cut back to 3/4 next time because the Dew adds sweetness)
2 large eggs, at room temp
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Mountain Dew
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (do not use ready-to-drink orange juice)
zest from 1/2 lemon and 1/2 lime (you will used the zest from the other half in the frosting)
1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a measuring cup, combine Mt. Dew and concentrated orange juice.
3. Combine butter, sugar, and zest in a large bowl. With a hand mixer on medium-high speed, beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Scrape the sides of the bowl before adding flour.
4. Add dry mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the wet in 2 additions, beating on low speed until just combined. (I like to finish mixing with a spatula after the last addition of flour.)
5. Pour batter into cupcake papers about 2/3 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

For the frosting (invented by me):
1 cup Mountain Dew
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
zest from 1/2 lemon and 1/2 lime (you might not use all of it)

1. In a saucepan, bring 1 cup of Mt. Dew to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat until it no longer bubbles (medium-low or low depending on your stove). Let Mt. Dew evaporate for about 15 minutes. It should reduce by 3/4. You should end up with between 2 tablespoons and 1/4 cup of syrup. Pour it in a small glass measuring cup to cool.

2. Sift the confectioners' sugar into a mixing bowl. Add butter and beat, gradually increasing speed to high, until combined. Pour in heavy cream and Mt. Dew syrup. Continue mixing on high until fluffy. Add OJ concentrate, zest (and food coloring). Mix on low speed until combined.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 4 (too sweet for me!)