Listen to an ice cream truck chime by and we’re instantly transported back to childhood summers, with melting rainbow sherbet sticky on our faces. Recapture those sweet memories without making quite as big a mess with these Rainbow Sherbet Cupcakes from The NY Melrose Family. This recipe uses the citrusy, icy dessert itself to create a baked treat as wonderful as the first warm day.

You’ll Need:

Cupcakes
– 1 cake mix
– 3 eggs
– 3 tablespoons flour
– 2 cups melted Rainbow Sherbet (can melt in microwave)
Frosting
– 8 cups of Powdered Sugar
– 2/3 cup heavy cream
– 8 tablespoons butter
– Duncan Hines Flavor Creations packets in Strawberry Shortcake, Orange Creamsicle, and Key Lime

How To:

Cupcakes

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in cupcake tin.
2. Add the cake mix, eggs and melted rainbow sherbet into a mixing bowl, and stir to combine.
3. Add the flour and give a few stirs until just mixed in.
4. Pour a 1/3 cup of batter into each cupcake liner, until each one is about 2/3 of the way full.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Let the cupcakes cool in the baking tin for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to continue cooling.

Frosting

1. Add the powdered sugar, heavy cream and butter to the large mixing bowl of a stand or electric mixer.
2. Mix on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until ingredients are combined.
3. Mix on medium speed for an additional 3 minutes, until the frosting peaks and holds its shape.
4. Separate the frosting into three bowls.
5. Add a flavor packet to each bowl and stir to completely combine the flavor into the frosting. The final product should have a uniform color.
6. To frost, put the frostings into separate frosting bags and combine them with Wilton 2D tip. Check out a tutorial on how to do so here.

These cupcakes bring me back to childhood! What about you? Can you wait to try the taste of Rainbow Sherbet in cupcake form? What other flavors might you try? How would you adapt a homemade cake batter to this recipe?