Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Hello everyone!

Today I am sharing my recipe for Pink Lemonade Cupcakes. This has been one of my favourite things to bake recently, so much that I lost count of how many times I baked them during the Summer, and I’m still getting requests from family and friends to bake more! They’re really yummy and refreshing, and no matter the season, they are sure to bring a little sunshine to your day.

Since lockdown I’ve been baking in smaller batches and dividing recipes down to just one egg (as halving an egg can be a little tricky!). Therefore, this recipe will roughly make 6 to 8 cupcakes but feel free to multiply the ingredients to make more.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

58g / 2oz Self-Raising Flour

1/8 tsp Baking Powder

58g / 2oz Butter, softened or Margarine

58g / 2oz Caster Sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Pink (or red) Food Colouring

Lemon Syrup:

27g / 1oz Granulated Sugar

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Buttercream:

75g / 2 ¾ oz Unsalted Butter

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

140g / 5oz Icing Sugar

1 tbsp Milk

To Decorate:

Pink, red or white Sprinkles or Hundreds and Thousands

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Method:

The Cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.

2. Place 6 paper cases in a cupcake tray.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the butter, caster sugar and egg, then using an electric mixer (or fork) beat together until smooth.

4. Add a tiny drop of pink food colouring and mix together. Add more and mix until you reach the shade you like, I find the colour is a little lighter once baked, so you may want to add a drop more after your favourite shade 😉. You can also use red food colouring, as pink is only light red.

If you’re just starting out with food colouring I recommend buying just the primary colours first (red, yellow and blue) as all the other colours and shades can be mixed or created from them. This way you can test whether you like it or not, and how the specific brand of food colouring works, without investing too much money.

5. Next, spoon the mixture into the paper cases and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until risen and firm to the touch.

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The Lemon Syrup:

1. Start by pouring the granulated sugar and lemon juice into a small saucepan. Heat gently on a low or medium heat, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. If the liquid starts to bubble, turn the heat down or remove from the heat for a minute and continue stirring, as we do not want the liquid to evaporate! Once dissolved and fully incorporated (it should look like a cloudy liquid, like lemonade, but a little thicker) leave to cool for 15 minutes.

2. Using a fork or skewer prick the tops of the warm cupcakes and brush with the lemon syrup, so that it seeps through the holes and into the cupcakes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and leave to cool.

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The Buttercream:

1. Place the butter and vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl and using an electric mixer (or fork) beat until very soft and pale.

2. Gradually sift in the icing sugar, beating well after each addition. The more you beat at this stage the lighter and fluffier the buttercream will be.

3. If the buttercream is a little thick add about 1 tablespoon of milk, and beat until fully combined for a softer consistency.

~ Decoration Time ~

1. Using a small palette knife, thickly swirl the buttercream over the tops of the cupcakes.

2. Place a tablespoon of the sprinkles and/or hundreds and thousands onto a plate. Roll each cupcake through the sprinkles, angling them so that the sides (but not the top) of the buttercream is coated in the sprinkles.

3. You could also jazz it up by adding a lemon flavoured sweet or candy lemon slice (which are usually available here in the UK at Christmas time) to a centre of each cupcake.

Happy baking! Comment below: What has been your favourite thing to bake recently?

I hope you enjoyed today’s post! I’m currently aiming to continue posting weekly, on Saturdays at 4pm BST, with a mixture of craft, sewing and knitting tutorials, book reviews, baking recipes and more 

Follow my crafty adventures and for more updates on my posts check out my Instagram @lilacdaisiesdesigns and @princessemily_m

Stay safe and best wishes,

Emily M x