Mountain Dew cupcakes? This I had to try. My husband’s first love might actually be the caffeinated beverage that helps keep him functioning during the day, so I figured he’d love these. While I was wrong about that, they do make an interesting dessert that you can share over the Fourth of July holiday.
While the cupcakes and certainly made with Mountain Dew, to me, they were just a lemon-lime cupcake with lemon-lime frosting. I Googled around to see what others thought of these treats and others said they were lacking the orange flavor that actually makes Mountain Dew so tasty. Well, not to me. I don’t like it actually.
I followed the recipe to a T. For your information, the recipe below comes from All Things Cupcake.
Mountain Dew Cupcakes
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3/4 cup Mountain Dew
1/4 cup of lemon and lime juice (juice from 1 lemon and 1 lime)
zest from 1 lemon and 2 limes (separate into 2 piles, one for buttercream)
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1. Beat butter on medium for 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar and lemon, lime zest. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs one at a time, Scrape sides of bowl in between additions
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add to mixer bowl. Turn on low for 5 seconds.
5. Add the Mountain Dew, lemon/lime juice, and lemon extract . Mix to combine.
5. Scoop into cupcake papers about two-thirds full.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
Mountain Dew Buttercream
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
4-5 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Mountain Dew
Juices from half of 1 lemon and half of 1 lime.
Lemon and lime zest (rest of zest from cupcake recipe. Or zest from half of 1 lemon and 1 whole lime)
1 teaspoon lemon extract
neon green food coloring (yellow and blue if you dont have green)
1. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment
2. Beat butter at medium-high speed until creamy
3. Add half of the sugar, turn mixer on low for 5 seconds.
4. Add the Mountain Dew, zest, and lemon extract . Beat until combined.
5. Add food coloring to the desired color.
6. Gradually add remaining sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.
One note: I didn’t like the lemon and lime zests in the cupcakes. I felt like I could feel them when I was chewing the cupcakes.
My husband apparently likes his Mountain Dew only from the green bottle. He wasn’t a fan. But my kids LOVED the fruity cupcakes. I abstained (except for one little taste) because of my desire to lose a couple of pounds. I did think they tasted lemon-lime-like, but I really love cupcakes and I did like these. I thought maybe a complementary frosting flavor would be nice. Maybe chocolate or something along those lines.
Are you going to give these a shot?