Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Tomorrow at work we are having a potluck celebration for 3 people in my department who are getting married this summer. I offered to bring cupcakes and decided to find a nice summery flavor to also celebrate that summer is upon us and school will be out soon. Pink Lemonade it was. This recipe actually used a box mix as a base, but it was changed up quite a bit, not using the directions on the box. I usually avoid box mixes unless they are very doctored like this one. I'll still count these as homemade enough, just minus having to use flour, sugar, and some sort of leavening agent. I also almost always opt out of using shortening-based frostings because they end up being such a pain to clean up. The are definitely nice and smooth and glossier than a buttercream, but shortening just gets on everything. The only reason I stuck with it is because my house was slightly humid, and in case it was warm in the school, shortening holds up better than buttercream in the heat.

The only thing I really changed in the recipe was instead of the 3/4 cup of water in the cake batter, I did 1/4 cup and a 1/2 cup of the thawed lemonade concentrate. It was just enough for a little hint of lemony tartness, but not overpowering. The lemon zest alone didn't quite cut it. Other than that I followed the recipe as is and they came out great! The frosting is a bit softer and glossier than my traditional buttercream that I like, but I knew that after a few hours the buttercream would soften up, and that just doesn't taste as good to me. The frosting is packed with more pink lemonade flavor than I expected. A lot of times I add extra flavoring because the vanilla extract and 7 cups of powdered sugar really mask any flavor added, but the lemonade really came through. I had some lemon extract on hand just in case, but never needed it. I also tried to find those lemon jelly candy fruit slices for decoration, but couldn't find any near me, so I stuck with the decorative straws for décor. Also, I used a little yellow food coloring in the cake instead of pink, so I could have the fun look of both the yellow and pink of the lemonade. Hope everyone enjoys these tomorrow! They are a great combination of sweet, fluffy cake and tart lemonade frosting.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
slightly adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

For the cake:
1 box white cake mix
1 pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup thawed frozen pink lemonade concentrate
3/4 cup oil
4 egg whites
3 or so drops yellow food coloring

For the frosting:
1 cup shortening
1 cup butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
1/2 cup thawed frozen pink lemonade concentrate
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. milk
the rest of the zest from the lemon
6-7 cups powdered sugar
4 drops or so of pink food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 cupcake tins with liners.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the cake mix and pudding mix.
3. Add the sour cream, lemon zest, water, lemonade, oil and egg whites and beat on medium for about 2 minutes until smooth.
4. Add the food coloring and beat again until mixed in.
5. Divide between cupcake liners and bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool completely.
6. For the frosting, beat the shortening and butter together.
7. Add the lemonade, vanilla, milk and lemon zest and beat together. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing on low speed until all is combined. Give it a good beating for 30 seconds at the end. Add the food coloring and beat until mixed in.
8. Frost cupcakes and decorate as you like!