“Mean Girls” – A Musical?

Yes, the modern classic teen comedy “Mean Girls” is now a Broadway musical, and quite a good one at that. The musical very closely follows the film, with a few subtle changes to allow for needed modern updates and more inclusive casting opportunities. “Mean Girls” follows new girl, Cady Heron, as she goes from being home-schooled in the jungles of Africa to attending public high school in suburban America. Learning to navigate ‘Girl World’ is a lot more than she bargained for, and learning how to make friends, be popular, and finding out that that those are not the same thing, are all part of the adventure.

For those like myself who LOVE the film, you will not be disappointed by the show. Often times, I’m personally not a fan of movies made into stage musicals, but “Mean Girls” is an exception. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. When Broadway returns from it’s COVID hiatus, I highly recommend getting yourself tickets for this show!

My Experience

“Mean Girls” will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the first Broadway show that my fiancé and I saw when we were first dating. We took a Wednesday off, wore pink (as one must), and went down to the city for the show. I’ll be honest, my expectations were low. But I had a blast, laughed so hard, and enjoyed every moment.

Since it was John who inspired me to create Center Stage Sweets, I knew I had to make a “Mean Girls” inspired treat to celebrate this memory.

The Inspiration

For those who are unfamiliar with “Mean Girls” (movie or musical), Cady becomes part of a group of girls known as “The Plastics.” To sit with them at lunch, you have to follow the rules. And their most famous rule is “On Wednesday, we wear pink!” Naturally, I had to create a pink dessert. And since the show is about mean girls, I thought a tart treat would also be appropriate. So, I guess now it’s “On Wednesdays, we eat pink lemonade cupcakes!”

Also, we chose to release this recipe on October 3rd in honor of Mean Girls Day. For those who don’t know, Cady meets a cute senior boy in her math class, and when recalling how she fawned over him and every tiny little detail of their interactions, she says “On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was.” (Trust me, it’s funnier in the movie and on stage than I could ever hope to type out).

The Recipe

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake tins with cupcake wrappers (I prefer something pink for this one, but anything you like is fine). Spray cupcake wrappers with baking spray and set aside.

2. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and kosher salt and set aside.

3. On a low speed, beat egg whites using your mixer with the whisk attachment. Once the eggs are frothy and no longer translucent, slowly start incorporating 1 1/2 cups of sugar and slowly increase the speed of the mixer. Once all the sugar is added and the consistency is like melted marshmallows, stop mixing.

4. Heat 1/2 cup sugar and raspberries in a saucepan over medium heat. Allow to boil briefly so raspberries breakdown and a syrup forms. Strain and set aside to cool

5. Stir in vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice into the egg white mixture. Add the oil.

6. Stir in raspberry syrup.

7. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients and milk alternating beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

8. Add in food coloring (If you don’t have pink food coloring, just use one drop of red).

9. Fill cupcake wrappers 2/3 – 3/4 full. Bake for 22 – 25 minutes.

10. Let the cupcakes cool in the tins for 3 – 5 minutes then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

11. Mix butter and half of confectioners sugar. Add vanilla extract and lemon juice. Mix in remaining confectioners sugar.

12. Add milk slowly until desired consistency is achieved. Add food coloring until desired color is achieved.

13. Fill a piping bag with desired tip and frosting. Pipe onto cupcakes.

14. Add sprinkles, if desired. Enjoy!

Yields 24 cupcakes. 281 calories per cupcake.