Lil Cup of T: Yummy Recipe

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes.

I love all things lemon. Sweet and tart is my thing. I also LOVE baking. I have a big sweet tooth. Ask my dentist, he will tell you the same thing! So, when I found this Paula Deen recipe, I knew it was for me. The recipe is for a layer cake, which I have also made, but I decided to change it up and go for cupcakes.

The ingredients needed are:

For the cake-

1 box of white cake mix (plus whatever the mix calls for)
3 tbsp pink lemonade drink powder (I used Country Time)
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

For the frosting-

1 lb confectioners sugar
1 stick softened unsalted butter
3 tbsp pink lemonade drink concentrate
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest

Directions:

Follow the directions according to cake mix box to make the batter. Once you have the basic batter ready, stir in the pink lemonade drink mix powder and lemon zest. Once it's all combined get the cupcake pan ready with liners and scoop the batter evenly into the cups. I put about 1/3 a cup into each. My cake mix called for the oven to be preheated at 350 degrees and to cook for about 20 minutes. So I just stuck with that. Be sure to poke them with a tooth pick to ensure they are cooked enough.

The batter.

Ready for the oven!

While they are cooking, get the frosting ready. Pour the powdered sugar into a mixing bowl with the softened butter and beat until fluffy. Then add the pink lemonade concentrate, vanilla and lemon zest. Continue to beat. This is a bit difficult because the frosting gets very stiff, but stick with it! I added just a tad more concentrate to soften it up. Be sure to taste it along the way to make sure you like the flavor. You can always add more to kick up the taste!

Time to mix.

Frosting. Just about ready.

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely start putting the frosting on. So yummy. I went light on the frosting just because I didn't want to overload the sweetness. I also added pink and yellow sugar crystals just for fun.