Pretty in Pink

Yesterday was Callie Rae's actual birthday so I made some pink lemonade cupcakes for our community group. In addition to being delightfully yummy, they are adorable and perfect for a little girl's birthday. Pink overload! Word to the wise though... when choosing a candle for a 1 year old's birthday cake, make sure to read the package to make sure you don't accidentally get a trick candle. A candle that sparks and refuses to blow out isn't really the best option for a baby! Ooops!

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

1 c. all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

1 pinch salt

½ c. granulated sugar

¼ c. vegetable oil

2 egg whites

⅓ c. thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate

1 tsp. lemon extract

¼ c. buttermilk

about 1/2 tsp. red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites, lemonade concentrate and lemon extract. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.

Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). I used a 1/3 measuring cup for this and it was the perfect amount. 

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. 

Top cooled cupcakes with frosting.

Frosting:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup marshmallow cream

1 (1-pound) box confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp. lemon extract

2-3 drops red food coloring

Blend cream cheese and butter together in a mixing bowl. Add marshmallow cream and sugar and blend. Add lemon extract and red food coloring and blend. For these cupcakes I piped the icing with an icing bag, using the Wilton Tip 1M and topped them with pink sprinkles. But you could also just use a spatula if you don't want to get so fancy.