Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

Despite a rather gloomy Memorial Day here in my neck of the woods, we still found a way to celebrate. We took Zingy to see Papa and some more of his family. I meant to concoct a delicious strawberry rhubarb something or another to share with the fam, but nothing in life is guaranteed with a baby. So hours later after we returned home, the baking itch hit and I needed to make SOMETHING. I didn't want to have to run to the store, so this is what I found from The Farm Chicks.
When I went through the recipe, I decided that I didn't want to blend the strawberries. I am a fan of tasty strawberry chunks in my baked goods, so I just cut them up into about 1/2 inch pieces and folded them into the cake batter.

Skubz can't seem to keep his hands off this cake, I would be surprised if it makes it through the night.

Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

3/4 cups butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar (not packed)
3 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2" - 3/4" chunks
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs

2 heaping cups fresh strawberries, cut into 1/2" chunks

Add 3/4 cups of butter and brown sugar to a saucepan and cook over medium high heat until butter is melted and sugar has dissolved. Pour into a 13"x9" baking pan. Top with the rhubarb chunks and set aside while you prepare the cake batter.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda to a mixing bowl and stir together. Add melted butter and milk and beat at medium speed, scraping bowl as needed, for one minute. Add eggs and beat on high for two minutes, scraping bowl as needed. Fold in the strawberry chunks. Pour batter atop the Rhubarb Topping in the baking pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the cake is set in the center, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for five minutes. After five minutes, loosen cake from edges of the pan with a spatula and invert onto a cooling rack or platter.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

So as if we don't have enough to keep us busy with our little 5 month old Zingy baby, but we have some upcoming nuptials. As in, our own! Yes, the Mimz and Skubz are finally going to make it official next month. We aren't much to make a spectacle, so the wedding is going to be a small, private affair. I decided that a wedding cake is just too cliche for us, so I am making cupcakes. I'm still in the experimental stage, and just tried these Pink Lemonade Cupcakes. They are fantastic! I like baking cupcakes too much to say for sure that they are the winner, but they are definitely worth sharing. They are everything about a warm summer day, in a cupcake liner. So Here they are!

I found this recipe from The Awesome Recipe Collection.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Yeild: 10-12 cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1/3 cup thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1/4 cup buttermilk
few drops red food coloring


Lemonade Buttercream:
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
Red food coloring

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate.
Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth.
Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.
Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full).
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting.
For the buttercream frosting:
Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined.
Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink.