Easy and Simple Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

For my birthday I got the Deen Brothers cookbook and was really excited to try their recipe for Pink Lemonade cake. Unfortunately it didn't turn out as well as I was hoping. Not only was it too sour for my taste buds, but it also ended up a pretty unflattering shade of pink. After a little experimenting in the kitchen I came up with this recipe and I liked it a lot better. So does my family! Everyone wants me to bring these to our next family reunion.

Cupcake Recipe:

1 box vanilla flavored cake mix (white)

1 1/3 cup of water

3 eggs

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

3 tablespoons of powdered pink lemonade concentrate*

Red food coloring

*Instead of using 3 tablespoons, I like to use 4 packets of Kool-Aid pink lemonade flavored drink mix. It adds a nice little kick to the cupcakes.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line your muffin tins with cupcake liners. One box will make around 20-24 cupcakes depending on how large you want them.

Combine the eggs, water, oil, cake mix and pink lemonade concentrate in a large bowl and mix together until well combined. If the mixture isn't as bright pink as you'd like, add a few drops of red food coloring until you achieve the color you want. I usually add 10-12 drops to get it a fairly bright pink.

Evenly distribute the cake batter into each lined muffin tin, filling half to ¾ of the way full. Place the cupcakes in the oven for 18-22 minutes. You should be able to insert a toothpick into the middle and have it come out smooth.

When finished remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool while you mix up the frosting. You can make scratch frosting, but if you're like me, you just don't have the time for that. I like to use frosting straight from the can and doctor it up a little to taste a little different.

Frosting Recipe:

1 can vanilla or lemon flavored frosting

2 teaspoons of pink lemonade concentrate-thawed

Red food coloring

Mix together the frosting with the pink lemonade concentrate until fluffy and well combined. You can add more lemonade if you want, but it might become too runny to spread evenly on the cupcakes. Add enough red food coloring to tint the frosting a bright pink color.

Frost the cupcakes and garnish with pink or red sprinkles. These cupcakes are cute enough for the kids, but tasty enough for the adults!