I’ve been dreaming up these cupcakes for awhile now, and although I didn’t have any specific occasion to bake, I decided to just go ahead and celebrate the warmer weather with cupcakes. Because when life hands you lemons…
Bake pink lemonade cupcakes!
The recipe is really easy — basically replacing the water called for in a white cake box mix with pink lemonade concentrate. They bake up pretty tart, so if you don’t totally love lemon, just dilute the concentrate a little more. We’re big lemon fans over here, so I appreciated the tart flavor, but the recipe is flexible!
This was also my first time trying out the two-tone frosting technique, and I love it! Grin and Bake It has a great tutorial on her blog — I’m normally too covered in frosting to handle baking and photographing at the same time, but she’s got it down. The method requires a certain amount of hand strength to squeeze the frosting out of 2 separate compartments, but I think it’s really worth it in the end. The possibilities of color combination are endless! Gotta love that this combo compliments my blog colors perfectly :)
Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
For Pink Lemonade Cake:
1 box white cake mix
3/4 cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 egg whites
– Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 24 muffins tins with liners
– Combine all of the ingredients in an electric mixer and begin by mixing low for 30 seconds, then increase the speed to medium for another minute.
– Divide the batter evenly, filling the liners about 2/3 full
– Bake cupcakes for about 25 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean
– Allow cupcakes to cool before frosting
For Two-Tone Pink Lemonade Buttercream:
3 cups confectioners sugar
1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 tbsp frozen pink lemonade concentrate
Pinch of salt
2 colors of food coloring
– Combine all ingredients in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment and mix on low until combined
– Increase speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is light and to your desired consistency
– Separate frosting in 2 bowls and color as you desire
– Follow Grin and Bake It’s tutorial on the technique for piping two-tone frosting
– You may need to double the buttercream recipe if you plan on piping tall frosting swirls on 24 cupcakes like I did (that’s a lot of frosting per cupcake, just the way I like it!)
Oh, I would have to use my go-to, homemade, white cake recipe for this. What a great idea to add straws!!! haha!
Memoria — any chance you’d want to share your go-to white cake recipe?? I’m always looking for one! Glad you like the straws :)
Thanks for the link back Erica! Love the straws as garnish. Super cute!!
these are precious. lets open up an American bakery in paris. you can bake and i can…
taste test?
Oh my YUM! That is so fun! I think this would be a wonderful treat to bake with my kids! Thank you so much for sharing!
Angel Hugs,
Bridgett
Let’s see pictures of the “amazing” dessert tacos!!
Those are so cute! These are definitely a must bake for summer :)
http://delightfulbitefuls.blogspot.com/
oooooh I just put these in the oven and couldn’t resist tasting the batter! SO YUMMY! I can’t wait to take these to girls night in tomorrow ;)
what a great presentation!! I love it and so will my girls!
These look deliciously adorable!! :D
Finals are coming to a close soon and definitely making these for a friends party on Thursday! :) So excited to try them!
I love lemonade and cupcakes, so I’m going to have to try this recipe! Great idea with the straws on top, so cute!
I made these recently and I plan to make them again on Friday. They were delicious! I definately agree with the double batch of frosting!
I’m confused… I first saw these here, but someone posted the same photos on their website and aren’t giving credit to this one?
http://dujourmag.com/blog/kitchy-weekends-lemonade/
Tricia — thank you for bringing that to my attention! That is definitely my photo and they did not link to my site, so I left a kind of nasty comment. Hopefully they give me credit where it is due!
Im you newest follower. Wow these are too cute! I was looking for a recipe for pink lemonade cupcakes and that’s how I found you.
I am making these with my girls right now. I forgot to color my batter pink…but they still look yummy!!
I just found your blog today and Whoa! My teeth hurt just looking at all these magnificent recipes! Beautiful photos and well written blog. I will definitely be trying out these Pink Lemonade Cupcakes this spring! YUM!
I made these today for a fundraiser and they are SSSOOO YUMMY!!!!!!!!
Can’t wait to try this recipe!! Cute and yummy = win,win!!
Can’t wait to try this recipe!! Cute and yummy = win,win!!
I just made these tonight as a test pilot for a party tomorrow…they were awesome!! My mom even loved. I used my Paula Deen go to yellow cup cake recipe and it was amazing…I used a bit less of the pink lemonade concentrate because there is milk in the recipe but it still gave enough hint of lemonade without being over powering. I love this site!
I wish I could make these right now. These just remind me of summer so much :)
These are just AMAZING! Decided to make a batch for me and my mates today, and I’m not sure if they’ll get any or if I’ll devour them all.
– Mr. P
I made these yummy cupcakes for Easter. My hubby took 9 of them to work. And my son was so funny. He kept saying “Gosh mom, these taste so bad I have to keep eating more!!” Definitely easy to make!!
Could I use a vanilla cake mix instead?
Vanilla cake mix should work just as well!
memoria – i agree – would love in on your go to white cake recipe!!! prefer homemade much more to the boxed.. but they will do if i’m in a pinch! ;)
VERY cute idea! Can’t wait to try!
i just got done making these for the ladies at work… and i had to try one… and i must say that are great… quick and easy to make too….
I cannont wait to make these, just went and got the ingrediants and I’m making them this weekend for our fathers day bbq! I LOVE baking yummy treats like these & hey my name is Erika too ; ) thanx for the recipie.
I have a friend who is a Chef. She mentioned this flavor for cupcakes I thought she was nuts. I looked up the idea found your site used your suggestions for pink lemonade cupcakes. Added a bit more concentrate and the cakes popped with lemonade! They were the best! I added a bit of lemonade to the frosting the kids had pink lemonade cupcakes over the bon fire instead of smores! :) Though you do not have an Orange Dream reciepe on your site I am going to use the same concept and we will see what happens. Happy cupcakes to all!
OMG, these are delicious!!! I made them a few weeks ago after looking @ your site. I ranted & raved about how great they were, & had so many comments about me making them, I must have shared your website with like 20 people. About 5 people made them the next day!!! :) thanks for sharing. Melissa
Oh & they loved them also… :) so much they ranted & raved & people commented on theirs.. I’m sure your website is going to be very popular if it isn’t already. :) Melissa
Anonymous — thanks for the love!! I get so excited when people share my recipes and site – it’s why I do it! Glad you enjoyed the cupcakes so much :)
I made these cupcakes today and my family said the icing was to sweet…wat can I do to tone down the icing sweetness?
-SC
OOOOOHHHHHHHH MMMMMMYYYYY GOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH
I love pink lemonade in everything!!!! im soo gonnna make this ill tell you how much i like them when im done!!!!!!
These are so cute. I think I am going to make them for a BBQ which i am already bring your jell-o shots too:) can I do the buttercream without the butter just using shorting? my friends daughter is highly allergic to milk. Thanks!!
Danielle
Do I still put 4 egg whites even if the recipe calls for 3 egg whites? Thanks!
And by recipe I meant what the box calls for. Haha
Love them!!! I really would like to know where you found all of your super cute liners for the cupcakes
Do you leave the pink lemonade frozen when making the cake or do you thaw it first?
I think either way — frozen or thawed would work!
These were delicious! Thank you for sharing. I’m going to make them again for the big BBQ this weekend.
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i am making these for a friends birthday as we speak! so stoked!!!
So I just read a comment here about the pink lemonade being frozen or thawed…I thought I was supposed to use pink lemonade powder mix *face palm* lol o well I used the powder and it turned out great =)
Anonymous — June 10th, 2012 @ 11:47 pm
I did the same thing
how many cupcakes does this recipe make?
Anonymous – the recipe yields 24 cupcakes, enjoy!
These look amazing! I just featured a link to them in my blog: http://addijaipartypoms.blogspot.com/2011/08/pink-lemonade-event-ideas.html
These look wonderful, Erica! – Lemonade is a favorite flavor of this family…I am sure our grandsons will like the straws in the cupcake top – maybe I will make these for church picnic on Sunday!
I made these but adapted them into cake pops using the cake & buttercream recipe, so good. Love love love this recipe!
Amazing article, thanks for putting this collectively! “This is obviously one huge post. Thanks for the priceless information and insights you have so provided here. Keep it up!”
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I ran across this post on pinterest a few weeks ago and had to try it! I originally intended to make cake balls out of the recipe, but ran out of time. I instead made a 2 layer cake – it turned out just as yummy! I’m looking forward to trying a cake ball adaption in the near future. I blogged my cake experience at:
http://noutensilunused.blogspot.com/2011/11/pink-lemonade-cake.html
Thanks for a great recipe!
thanks for this! i’m so excited to try these out – i absolutely adore pink lemonade!!
My son is obsessed with pink lemonade, I’m totally making these for his birthday – I’ll just leave the frosting uncolored.
These look amazing. A tip I learned for two-toned/multi-colored frosting is to “paint” the sides of a piping bag with desired colors using some white frosting that is dyed, then place the rest of the frosting in the bag carefully. Twist the end of the bag and you’re ready to frost.
I just made the frosting with a different recipe for the cupcakes. But…Oh. My. Gosh. AMAZING! Definitely one of those summer go-to dessert recipes. However, it was extremely THICK when I finished mixing everything together. So to thin it out I ended up putting an extra 4 tbsp of the lemonade concentrate. And I used pink lemonade concentrate instead of regular. Didn’t have to add too much food coloring to make it pink since the concentrate did that for me :) All-in-all, great recipe! Definitely going to bookmark it. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this, these came out AMAZING! I made them for my nieces Birthday and they were a hit! I changed the frosting recipe a bit, but followed your cake recipe. Thank you, I will be maiking these again, very tasty, fun and easy!
this is so cute!! I would love to have these for my sweet 16th!!
what could you use to mix the frosting instead of a paddle attachment??
baby ur a star! fantastic, just like my grandmothers. purrfect.
does anyone have a favorite brand of vanilla cake mix to use or a very good white cake recipe i can make from scratch? happi easter.
Have too make and i’m now following your blog!!
Made these for work last night – turned out FANTASTIC! Definitely my favorite of all cupcakes I’ve made thus far . . .
made these yesterday for a rare treat as well as company. very very good, they were a hit. excellent lemon flavor and moist as well!!!
I linked this on my blog. I can’t wait to try them!
Would confetti cake work or no?
Erica — June 25th, 2012 @ 5:55 pm
Yes, confetti cake would be great!
My cupcakes did not turn out so pink? was I suppose to use food coloring in the batter?
Erica — June 29th, 2012 @ 6:24 pm
I didn’t use pink food coloring – but maybe the brand you used wasn’t quite as strong of a pink color as the one I used. I’m sure it’s still delicious though!
thanks!!
My cupcakes were also a very pale pink, but what mattered more was the flavor! I used the full 3/4ths cup of concentrate and they are amazing! They didn’t taste outwardly lemon-y, but had a sweet and tartness to them that was perfectly balanced. The frosting put them right to where they needed to be with the lemon flavor, and they were a complete hit!
Um, next cupcake plan after the raspberry lemon recipe! I think I’ll add the candy lemon slices if I can find them small enough to add a finishing touch. Thanks for this idea! :)
Love the batter! I put mine in for 23 mins and the bottom of my cupcakes were brown and burnt a little so I would suggest maybe even 20 mins. Also I followed the recipe for the frosting and I noticed something very wrong! There was no moisture! So I added a little water and it finally looked like frosting! It was also veryyyy sweet so next time maybe less sugar! But overall I love it! Love the tartness.
I am so happy i found this i have a baby shower to do and use to make these cupcakes when they came in stores but my best friend wants them and shes 8 months pregnate and there not in shore they are a spring cupcake!!! thank you so much for posting this!!
Could this recipe be used to make a layer cake? Round cake pans with icing in between the layers? My daughter wants a pink cake for her birthday :) Sounds delicious.
Erica — March 10th, 2013 @ 7:00 pm
I haven’t used it as a layer cake, but I don’t see why not! It should be enough batter for 2 9″ pans :)
Does the concentrate need to be thawed before mixing it in the batter and frosting?
Erica — March 19th, 2013 @ 2:08 pm
Yes, I would recommend thawing it first. Enjoy!
I’m making these for my little girl today for her birthday! Can’t wait to taste one! Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!
Do you have to use the paddle attachment? Or can a standard electric mixer work?
Erica — May 29th, 2014 @ 3:48 pm
Standard electric mixer should work!
I’ve tried this recipe several times, but every time my cupcakes end up caved in. I hide the holes with frosting, and everyone loves how they taste. I’m guessing the difference is that I am at a high elevation. Any suggestions for altering the recipe to compensate for the elevation?
Erica — July 26th, 2015 @ 10:25 pm
I don’t know much about high elevation baking, but I would guess that has something to do with it. Try googling about modifications you can make to the recipe to help compensate for the altitude. Good luck!