Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
on Mar 17, 2012, Updated Aug 22, 2024
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Not only are Pink Lemonade Cupcakes absolutely adorable, but they’re also the fluffiest tart and refreshing bite of lemony cake and frosting, perfect for any summer celebration.
Pink lemonade brings me back to childhood. It was such a fun twist on the original tart drink, and I loved the pop of unexpected pink! These cupcakes add another layer of sweet nostalgia. They couldn’t be cuter, and every kid and parent alike will have a hard time stopping at just one.
Lemon cakes always have such a sophisticated air to them. They remind me of fancy desserts you might serve at a tea party. Pink Lemonade Cupcakes are definitely worthy of a tea party, but they’re also a lovely ender for any summertime celebration!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Perfect for entertaining, these beauties will add a little fun and tart sweetness to any gathering, whether it’s a pool party, cookout, block party, or picnic.
- This is an easy recipe with limited ingredients because it’s semihomemade—it uses a lemon cake mix!
- Feeding a crowd? No problem! Just double (or triple) the recipe.
Recipe Ingredients
These are the ingredients for both the cupcakes and the must-have frosting!
- Lemon cake mix – I prefer Betty Crocker mixes
- Buttermilk – use this homemade buttermilk if you prefer
- Oil – called for in the cake mix
- Eggs
- Butter – real butter will result in the best taste and consistency of the frosting
- Pink lemonade concentrate – find this in the frozen section of the grocery store
- Vanilla
- Powdered sugar
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
- Mix together the cake mix, oil, buttermilk, and eggs. Pour into 18 muffin cups lined with paper liners.
- Bake and then set on wire racks to cool.
- Make the frosting by beating the butter, pink lemonade concentrate, vanilla, and salt.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix. Pipe or spread onto the cupcakes.
Recipe FAQs
This recipe is pretty basic, which makes it even better for entertaining since it comes together in the snap of a finger! The cake recipe calls for a lemon cake box mix, oil, buttermilk, and eggs. The frosting requires butter, pink lemonade concentrate, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar. Unlike most lemony desserts, like my lemon bars or lemon tart recipes, you don’t need to zest, juice, or slice any real lemons to make these cupcakes!
The consistency of the frosting is important if you want to pile it nice and high on the little cakes. When mixing the frosting ingredients, only add half of the powdered sugar at first. You want it to be a medium consistency, so start there and adjust as needed.
You should be able to stick a small spoon in the middle of the bowl of frosting, and it stays standing up (this is the best way to test it). If it’s too thick, add a little more pink lemonade concentrate. If it’s too thin, add a quarter cup of powdered sugar at a time until it reaches the best consistency.
You get what you pay for. When you bake from boxed cake mixes, I always think the nicer brands yield a better finished product. You’ll save a couple bucks on the off-brand selections, but the quality is better in the name brands. I like to use Betty Crocker.
Expert Tips
- I like to use Betty Crocker cake mixes because I’ve found the quality provides a better finished cake product than the off-brand mixes.
- Don’t ignore room temperature instructions. When making the frosting, both the butter and pink lemonade concentrate should be room temperature. If the concentrate is still frozen or cold, it will cause chunks of butter to harden in the frosting.
- Have fun with the toppings! You can get creative with your garnishes here. Add mini umbrellas, slices of lemon, decorative sprinkles, or small paper straws, like I did here. These cupcakes are seriously precious, so deck them out however your heart desires!
More Cupcake Recipes to Consider
Cupcakes
Chocolate Cupcakes
Frosting Recipes
Peanut Butter Frosting
Dessert Recipes
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Cupcakes
Birthday Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 box lemon cake mix, I used Betty Crocker
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Oil called for in the cake mix
- 4 eggs
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup pink lemonade concentrate, undiluted, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 dash salt
- 5-6 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together the cake mix, oil called for on the box, buttermilk, and eggs.
- Line the tin, and fill the cups 3/4 of the way full. My mix made 18 cupcakes.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the cupcakes are cooked through and spring back when lightly touched.
- For the frosting:Add the butter, pink lemonade concentrate, vanilla, and salt to the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix on medium speed with the whisk attachment until combined.
- Increase the speed to high and mix for 3-5 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy, stopping to scrape down the sides a time or two.
- Add half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low until combined, and then increase speed to medium and whip for 1 to 2 minutes.
- The consistency of the frosting is important if you will be piling it high on a cupcake. It should be a medium consistency. If the frosting is too thick, add a little more lemonade concentrate. If it needs to be a little thicker, add a 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, and whip to combine until it's sturdy enough.
- Place in a frosting bag and pipe on cooled cupcakes with M1 tip.
- Garnish as desired.
Notes
- Adding cold or frozen pink lemonade concentrate to the butter will cause it to solidify, leading to little clumps of butter in your icing—not what we are after here.
- If you mix the batch of frosting with a metal teaspoon (the kind you use for dinner), the spoon should stand up straight in the middle of the bowl when it is in the frosting. You’ll know it’s the right consistency if you can stir it with a spoon by hand, but it’s also sturdy enough to hold up the spoon.
- You can buy buttermilk or use this homemade buttermilk recipe.
- Double or triple the recipe if you need more cupcakes to feed a crowd!
i had a question about the powdered sugar, so u actually need 6 cups?
That’s how much I put in the frosting, you can always make a half batch if you’d like.
How big are the cupcakes
Standard size (you’ll use a 12-cup muffin tin). Enjoy!
I’ve been searching for a pink lemonade recipe using a lemon mix and pink lemonade concenrate (because that’s what I have on hand…) Thanks for coming to the rescue!
These would be perfect for a summer party! I would love if you would add this to the Lovely Things Thursday Linky Party!
my husband will love this cake for his birthday. (in june, luckily, so I can eat them too)
I have been waiting for you to put this recipe up ever since you mentioned it in your cake auction post! It sounds great and a nice refreshing change from vanilla or chocolate.