Pink Lemonade Cake

It’s anniversary time at the castle.  My P.S. (Prince Scott) and I have been married 39 years today!  I always like when the date falls on a Saturday, imitating the day of our actual wedding.  It seems more real, if that makes sense!  This year we are spending the weekend at a lake cabin and I wanted a cake to celebrate the occasion.  I had a new cake recipe I wanted an excuse to make.  It would be a “Labor” of love.  Groan?

When I saw the recipe for pink lemonade cake I was excited.  I love lemonade, pink is my favorite color, I like pink lemonade, my grandkids love pink lemonade… the list goes on.  A big plus was I was eager to use my bundt pan again.  It has been awhile!  This cake had to happen, and taking it to the lake for an anniversary weekend seemed magical.

Mix cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, lemonade, milk and oil

Making the cake itself was simple.  The garnishing later would be slightly more complicated.  More on that later.  For now I used a large mixing bowl, adding the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, milk and frozen lemonade concentrate.  I’d left the lemonade on the counter for a few hours and it was melted and ready to go.  I mixed the ingredients with a spoon until they were smooth.

Add red or pink food coloring until desired color.

I added several drops of red food coloring, stirred again and the batter was a beautiful bright pink.

Spray or grease and flour bundt pan thoroughly.

I poured the batter into the prepared bundt pan.  I’d sprayed it with baking spray that already had flour added. I’d never tried this method of greasing the bundt pan and was crossing my fingers that later it would come out of the pan neatly.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes at 350°F

The batter was tricky to pour but when done slowly you get the batter evenly spread into the bundt pan.

I slid the bundt pan into the oven and set the oven timer for 45 minutes.  I wanted to test it.  Every oven is different, yours may vary also.  The recipe said 50 minute to an hour, that’s just a suggestion.  When my toothpick tested dry at 45 minutes, I removed the pan from the oven onto a rack.

While cake is baking mix remainder of lemonade with 1/2 cup sugar.

While the cake baked I’d prepared the glaze.  I combined the remaining cup of pink lemonade with sugar and mixed well.  The sugar didn’t totally dissolve, but that didn’t matter.

Remove cake from oven and make poles with toothpick or bamboo skewer.

When the cake was out of the oven and on the rack I used a bamboo skewer to poke holes all over the cake.  The holes need to be a bit bigger than the skewer in order for the glaze to seep into the cake.

Pour lemonade mixture over cake and allow to cool.

I poured the glaze over the cake and let it soak in as it cooled.  I worried that a lot of it was seeping down the sides but that wasn’t a problem.  It all soaked it anyway and was pretty evenly distributed I saw as I cut it into pieces later.

Loosen edges of pan with a paring knife. Place plate on top of bundt pan and turn. Cake will fall out of pan.

The cooled cake was actually easy to remove onto a plate in one piece.  I put a plate on top of the pan, turned it and “thump”, it fell onto the plate in one piece!  I let it stand for another 30 minutes to cool and firm up.

Whisk powdered sugar, heavy cream, lemon extrat and melted butter until smooth. Add food coloring to desired shade. Pour over cake.

In another bowl I melted the butter then added the powdered sugar, cream and lemon extract.  I whisked until the frosting was smooth then added red food coloring.  I drizzled the frosting over the bundt cake.  It was looking SO pretty!

Pink Lemonade Cake

I stored the cake in a Tupperware cake taker after I cut a slice for the photos.  It will be traveling with us to the lake today.  We will have slices for dessert all weekend.  I sneaked a bite of cake and it was perfectly lemon and very much like pink lemonade.  This is a very moist cake!  I think my P.S. is going to love it.  He’s a big fan of lemonade!

Pink Lemonade Cake

Pink Lemonade Cake

• Servings: 12-16
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A moist and colorful lemon bundt cake with lemon glaze and lemon icing.

• 1 package lemon cake mix
• 1 3 oz box instant lemon pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate; thawed
• 4 drops pink or red food color (or more to suit your taste)
• 1 cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate; thawed
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar; sifted
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract or vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Spray or grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan.

In a large mixing bowl add cake mix, lemon pudding mix, eggs, vegetable oil, 1/2 cup lemon concentrate and milk. Mix until smooth. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Prepare lemonade glaze.

Remove from oven and prick cake all over with a fork or skewer. Pour lemonade glaze over top of cake.

Prepare frosting and drizzle over cooled cake.

Lemonade Glaze:

Combine the remaining thawed frozen lemonade and the sugar. Mix well and pour over warm cake. Let stand until cool.

Pink Frosting:

Melt butter in a microwaveable bowl. Add sifted powdered sugar, heavy cream and flavoring. Beat until smooth, adding milk as necessary. Add pink food coloring until desired color. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Adapted from Saving 4 Six