Pink Lemonade Cake

It's been years since I've baked a cake.  Over 15 since I've baked a cake from scratch.  And I've NEVER made homemade frosting (guilty of using the canned variety)!

So last week I got a wild hair and decided to bake Mr. Wonderful a cake to celebrate his big promotion (woo hoo!).  Of course this was a BIG risk since I'm obviously not much of a baker but Mr. Wonderful is my guinea pig with all things culinary and I knew he'd lie to me even if it turned out ugly and dry ~ ha!

Scouring the Internet, I stumbled upon a Pink Lemonade Cake recipe from MixingBowl.com:

PINK LEMONADE CAKE

Makes one 9" 3-layer cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups softened butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup pink lemonade drink mix (I used Country Time)

4 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

4 cups cake flour (I used sifted regular flour)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups milk

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Spray and flour pans.

2.  In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and drink mix until fluffy.

3.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

4.  Beat in lemon extract.

5.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

6.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

7.  Spoon batter into pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean.

8.  Allow cakes to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans, then cool completely on wire racks.

LEMONADE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Makes about 4 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups softened butter

8 tablespoons frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed (I used 10 because I thought it was too dry with just 8)

6 cups confectioner's sugar

Zest of one lemon

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl, beat butter, lemonade concentrate and lemon zest at medium speed until combined.

2.  Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth.

Note: Next time I'll nix the lemonade concentrate (we thought it made the frosting too sweet) and the lemon zest (it's hard to frost a cake with this ~ turned out lumpy looking).

Well, what do ya know?!  Call me Betty Crocker!

It was really yummy and so moist!  I impressed myself ~ ha!  And Mr. Wonderful liked it too ~ really!  He wasn't just trying to make me feel good.

BTW, while I was searching for cake recipes I also discovered Cake Wrecks.  Probably the funniest (and sometimes inappropriate but in an outrageously funny way) site I've ever seen!  If you haven't visited, you must, but be warned!  I spent about two hours on there the other night!  My abs still hurt from laughing!

Are you a cake wrecker or a Betty Crocker?  Either way, I have several baking-themed aprons available on Retro Revival.  Perfect gifts for the bakers in your life:)

("Betty Crockers" half apron & 1950's style "Beat It")

("Betty Bakers" & 1940's style "Bakers Delight")

Please remember to leave a comment here for a chance to win this month's blog giveaway, a Retro Revival shower cap of your choice:

Drawing is April 30th ~ good luck!