Raspberry Cupcake Mountain Dew

It sounds a little crazy, I know, but you just have to trust me. So the first question you might ask is how did I even come up with this idea? Well I can’t take all the credit for it. In my small quiet town, a soda fountain recently opened up. They have a super cool menu and they sell all sorts of wild soda concoctions. I’m more of a coffee girl than a soda girl, but I decided to give the new business a try. It was awesome! I never knew soda could be that good. I think the coolest thing was that they added cream to a lot of their creations. Magical french vanilla coffee creamer. In soda! Who knew? The only bad thing is that they aren’t open 24 hours 7 days a week. Sometimes I get a craving for a crazy soda concoction long after they’re closed or on a day when they aren’t even open. I made this recipe for those times so it can get me through until the next time I get to visit the wonderful soda fountain. I must confess, nobody makes soda creations like they do, but I think this recipe is an honorable mention at least.

I personally hadn’t ever heard of a soda fountain quite like this before, but now that it’s open, I hear it’s a thing in Utah, and if it’s there, it has probably moved to other places too. Hopefully you’re fortunate enough to have a place like this within driving distance of your house, but if not, I hope this will inspire you to try something new and creative. You might be a little bit surprised.

At the fountain, they have syrups and sauces with pumps on them, but at home, I’m a bit less fancy. I could always order the raspberry sauce/puree pump bottle online, but instead, I decided to go with what I could find at the grocery store. That’s why I used raspberry jam instead. My one exception is the birthday cake flavoring syrup by Jordan’s Skinny Mixes. You can buy that online as well, but I had the opportunity to go to a Gordman’s store and I found this bottle there. I couldn’t pass it up and I’m so glad I didn’t. If you don’t have a Gordman’s near by, you can always check the coffee aisle at your grocery store- they have all kinds of interesting syrups. I think a french vanilla would do just fine in a pinch.

Since I decided to use raspberry jam instead of puree, I decided to use a blender to get the “flavoring” mixture fully smooth, but I bet you could also just whisk it all together before adding everything to your soda. Also, you could just make your life a lot easier by simply ordering yourself some sauces and/or purees, which I plan to do in the future, but until they come in the mail, this is gonna get me by.

There is such a huge menu at that soda fountain and my usual order isn’t even from the menu! There are a ton of possibilities. I put syrups and sauces in my coffee all the time, but I would have never thought to go this crazy with soda. Try new things and create new flavors all your own, and if you have the opportunity, stop by one of these super cool soda fountains and check it our for yourself. You will be glad you did.

Raspberry Cupcake Mountain Dew Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2c. ice
• 2 T. french vanilla coffee creamer
• 2 T. raspberry jam, jelly, or puree
• 2 T. birthday cake (or french vanilla) syrup
• approx. 12oz. Mountain Dew, diet or regular

Start with a 32oz glass filled about halfway with ice. If you’re using a raspberry puree, you can simply add all the ingredients to the glass. However, if you’re using a raspberry jam or jelly, it might be a little bit to thick to incorporate without blending it or whisking it together with the creamer and syrup before adding it to the soda. Once the flavors are in the cup, pour in a little soda and stir it all together before filling it the rest of the way with more soda. Once it’s all incorporated, sip and enjoy to your hearts content.