Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
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This whole week I am going to share some treats from the kitchen just like these pink lemonade cupcakes. You could make these to give mom on Mother’s Day. I will also share a breakfast that you can serve mom or can always have it end up in an email to your honey as a big hint for a gift for you. I guarantee that it is easy enough for dad and the kids to make.
Today, we are starting with a cupcake. I wanted something girly, fun, and flavorful. I settled on creating a pink lemonade cupcake. When I think of pink lemonade I think of sweetness with a light lemony tang. That is just what the flavor of these are. They are very different in flavor from the perfect lemon cupcakes I have shared before. Those definitely scream lemon. These cupcakes are sweet with the perfect hint of lemon.
Now trying to lose weight while being a food blogger is tough but I just started. I’ve got 2 pounds down in 2 weeks so I had to do something to help me out. So, I sent some of these off to my sister-in-law to get some out of my house so I wouldn’t eat them all. They turned out so yummy I knew I would be in trouble. She said her family all gave the cupcakes a thumbs up and especially loved the cake portion.
This cupcake just starts off with a doctored up cake mix to make it unbelievably moist and tender. It also includes some lemon zest and powdered pink lemonade mix. Then the frosting gets some lemon zest and pink lemonade concentrate.
To decorate them I went looking for some candy lemon slices. I didn’t find them at the first store I went to but I did find some grapefruit candy in the bulk candy section and went with those. I loved that they were pink and yellow. Not only will these cupcakes be great for Mother’s Day, but also for a bridal or baby shower or even a Summer party.
Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Real Mom Kitchen
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 16.25 oz package white cake mix
- 1 small package 3.4 oz vanilla instant pudding
- 3 Tbsp sweetened pink lemonade drink mix like Country Time Pink Lemonade mix
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- ¾ cup water
- ¾ cup oil
- 4 whites eggs save the yolks for tomorrows recipe
- 6 drops of pink food coloring
Frosting:
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup shortening
- ½ cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate thawed
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 2 pound package or 7 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
- 3 drops of pink food coloring
Decorations:
- 24 lemon slice candies or grapefruit slice candies
- 12 colored flexible drinking straws
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk cake mix, pudding mix, and drink mix together. Add sour cream, lemon zest, water, oil, and egg whites to the dry mix. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Use a strong mixer, this batter is thick.
- Scoop batter into 24 lined muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until cupcakes don't look wet and a toothpick inserted in one comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting the cupcakes.
- Prepare the frosting by creaming butter, shortening, and lemon zest together. Then add lemonade concentrate, milk and vanilla with a mixer. Beat until smooth. Then gradually add the sugar, mixing well until light and fluffy. Beat in the food coloring.
- Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes. (You will have plenty to pile it on. I had over 1 cup leftover. Leftover frosting is good sandwiched between two graham crackers). Place a lemon candy wedge on top of each cupcakes. With the straws cut the top 1/3 of the straw off just below the flexible part. Discard the tops. Then cut the remaining straw pieces in half. Place one straw piece in each cupcake to resemble a drink.
Cupcake recipe is a Real Mom Kitchen Original, Frosting is adapted from A Little Loveliness.
