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Over the weekend, Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return premiered in Los Angeles complete with a “yellow brick” carpet, cotton candy trees, celebrity sightings, and a handful of our favorite characters (both new and old) from the upcoming film. We made it a girls’ day out and my daughter dawned her Glinda-inspired crown to accompany her Spring Tulle Dress.
Inspired by L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Roger Stanton Baum’s Dorothy of Oz, the film follows the story of Dorothy as she returns to the Land of Oz to help save Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Glinda from an evil Jester who seeks to control Oz by turning anyone of significance into marionettes. The film features a phenomenal voice cast which includes Lea Michele, Dan Aykroyd, Kelsey Grammer, Jim Belushi, Megan Hilty, Hugh Dancy, Oliver Platt, Patrick Stewart, Bernadette Peters, and Martin Short. With a beautiful score, an exciting, heartwarming story, and lovable characters, Legends of Oz is a tribute to the original film while engaging a whole new audience in Baum’s classic stories.
Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return is filled with new characters and new lands, including the scrumptious Candy County, which inspired me to get into the kitchen with my daughter. We love to bake and since we’re in the middle of strawberry season, we thought we would whip up a batch of Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes!
Dorothy’s adventures in Oz begin in Candy County, a brand new confectionary-filled wonderland. Fooled by the Jester’s optical illusions, Dorothy, Toto, and their new friend Wiser the Owl are fooled by signs that encourage them to eat the candy as opposed to the warnings that have always read “No Eating the Candy.” In the midst of a sweet feast, the three of them are stopped by Marshal Mallow, who arrests them for violating the land’s highest law. To their relief, Judge Jawbreaker realizes that only Dorothy can stop the Jester and restore peace to Oz, so he releases them and orders Marshal Mallow to accompany them on their journey towards the Emerald City.
As I was brainstorming, I decided to create a candy bar so my daughter could decorate the cupcakes to her heart’s content. This recipe for Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes uses real strawberries, lemons, butter, organic sugar, and flour and is easy to recreate, although slightly time intensive. If you prepare the strawberry puree in advance, you’ll be able to whip up a batch of cupcakes in less than 1 hour.
- 1/4 cup butter at room temperature
- 16 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup strawberry puree
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Using a stand mixer, beat butter on high until light and fluffy.
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Add cream cheese and continue to beat until well combined.
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Mix powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
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Mix in vanilla extract, lemon juice and strawberry puree until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
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Use immediately or refrigerate.
- 1/4 cup butter at room temperature
- 16 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup strawberry puree
-
Using a stand mixer, beat butter on high until light and fluffy.
-
Add cream cheese and continue to beat until well combined.
-
Mix powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
-
Mix in vanilla extract, lemon juice and strawberry puree until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
-
Use immediately or refrigerate.
While the cupcakes are baking, you can easily whip up the frosting and place it in a decorating bag with a large tip (I used a number 12). I actually placed the bag in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to chill the frosting. I was looking to recreate the swirled cupcakes seen in Candy County, but you could always use a fancier one like Wilton’s flower or star tip. I also added a single pink/yellow gum ball to each cupcake to go along with my Strawberry Lemonade theme!
Before setting out my cupcakes, I placed an assortment of candies in glass vases of varied shapes and sizes. I encourage you to check out your own assortment of dishes and vases as you might already have some that will work. (I found a ton from our wedding that we have used less than a handful of times).
I used a 3-tiered stand to display my cupcakes and even included some fresh strawberries and lemons from our lemon tree.
And since we have SO many lemons right now, I decided to make Strawberry Lemonade (watch for that recipe later on this week). I served the Strawberry Lemonade in Mason Jars and adorned them with colorful Aladdin straws.
We don’t usually have this much candy in our home so my daughter took the liberty of really accentuating her cupcake with all of the sweet treats I set out. Fortunately, she only took a bite or 2 (what restraint!).
We had so much fun creating these Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes and a Candy Bar inspired by Candy County from Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return. Stay tuned for photos from the premiere and our review of the film.
Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s return debuts in theaters on May 9th, 2014. You can keep up to date with the film by visiting the following social media channels:
Like Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return on Facebook
Follow on Twitter, Tumblr & Pinterest #LegendsofOz
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