This lemonade cake means the world to me. Growing up, I spent many Summer days in Mississippi visiting with my Big Mama. We spent most of our time in the kitchen baking cakes. But, while our cakes baked, we sat out on the porch to chat over some sweet tea or lemonade. This cake is inspired by those times. It’s moist, sweet and giving that wonderful tartness we love in a refreshing lemonade. Plus it’s so darn cute. I made it on the Food Network’s The Kitchn, and the entire team loved it, and you will too.
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How to Make Lemonade Cake
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan, then set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, add flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder and mix on low speed to combine.
- Next, slowly add in butter slices and allow it to mix until the flour resembles coarse crumbs.
- While butter mixes, in a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, pink lemonade, milk, lemon extract, and vanilla extract and set aside.
- With the mixer still on low speed, add the egg mixture in three batches, allowing the liquid to combine into dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
- If desired, stir in a few drops of pink or red food coloring to create a fun pink color. Spread batter into prepared pan evenly.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs. Cool in the pan on a wire rack until room temperature. While cooling, prepare the frosting.
For the Frosting:
- In your stand mixer, add butter and salt at medium-low speed.
- Next, turn the mixer down to low and slowly add the confectioner’s sugar in small portions until all is added, then turn the speed to medium-high to combine.
- Add lemonade and lemon extract and mix until nice and fluffy. Add in food coloring at this point if desired.
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Lemonade Cake Recipe
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I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 ½ cups cake flour sifted
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup unsalted butter slightly chilled and cut into slices
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate thawed
- ½ cup milk room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- Pinch salt
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
- ¼ cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed 4 tablespoons
- 3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
- Optional: pink food coloring, straws, and lemon slices
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan then set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, add flour, sugar, salt and baking powder and mix on low speed to combine.
- Next slowly add in butter slices and allow to mix until flour resembles coarse crumbs.
- While butter mixes, in a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, pink lemonade, milk, lemon extract and vanilla extract and set aside.
- With mixer still on low speed, add egg mixture in three batches allowing liquid to combine into dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
- If desired, stir in a few drops of pink or red food coloring to create a fun pink color. Spread batter into prepared pan evenly.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs. Cool in pan on a wire rack until room temperature. While cooling, prepare the frosting.
For the Frosting:
- In your stand mixer, add butter and salt at medium low speed.
- Next turn the mixer down to low and slowly add confectioner’s sugar in small portions until all is added then turn the speed to medium high to combine.
- Add lemonade and lemon extract and mix until nice and fluffy. Add in food coloring at this point if desired.
Video
Notes
How to store & reheat Pink Lemonade Cake
Frosting serves as a protective barrier for a cake, so there’s no need to wrap or refrigerate this baby. Cover the cake using a cake keeper or an overturned bowl to protect it from anything in the air. Almost any frosted cake can be kept at room temperature for four to five days.How long will Pink Lemonade Cake last in the fridge?
If you’d feel more comfortable refrigerating the cake, or you just prefer cold cake, that’s cool too! Chill the cake uncovered for 15 minutes to harden the icing, then tightly wrap it in plastic wrap.Can I freeze Lemonade Cake?
When freezing, I recommend that you freeze slices individually so that you can thaw a piece at a time without committing to the whole cake. Place each slice on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer. Let them sit for a couple of hours until the cake slices are hardened. Once hardened, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or parchment paper, then store them in an airtight container. Freeze your lemonade cake for 2-3 months. Thaw on the counter for a few hours before enjoying.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Thoroughly Thaw Concentrate: If using frozen pink lemonade concentrate, make sure it is completely thawed before adding it to the batter. This ensures accurate flavor incorporation.
- Creative Touch with Food Coloring: If you add food coloring for the pink hue, do so gradually. Start with a few drops and adjust until you achieve the desired color. It’s easier to add more than to correct an overly vibrant shade.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Allow eggs and milk to come to room temperature before incorporating them into the batter. This promotes better mixing and ensures even texture.
- Gentle Mixing: Mix the batter gently, especially when combining wet and dry ingredients. Overmixing can lead to a dense cake, so aim for a smooth but not overly worked batter.
Recipe Help
Don’t fret, not having cake flour won’t ruin the recipe and swapping with all purpose flour is cool even though it will slightly affect the texture. You can very easily make your own cake flour, though! Luckily, I have a guide on how to make your own cake flour.
Yep you know it boos! The food coloring is optional and doesn’t affect the flavor at all. You can replace the food coloring will a small amount of beet juice. Start out with a teaspoon at a time and adjust as needed. Just keep in mind that beet juice will have a slightly earthy flavor but should be masked well by the tart and sweet lemonade.
Fo sho! This recipe would make the perfect lemonade cupcakes. Simply adjust the baking time to approx 15-20 minutes for cupcakes or until a toothpick comes out clean. To apply the frosting, you can spread it on top with a spatula or use a piping bag for an embellished frosting.
Favorite Lemonade Recipes
- Homemade Lemonade
- Easy Strawberry Lemonade
- Lemonade Sorbet
- Strawberry Lemonade Bars
- Strawberry Lemonade Cake
- Blackberry Lemonade Ice Box Pie
*Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating and leave comments below!* Post a photo of how your version of the recipe came out on Instagram (using #grandbabycakes)!!
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I was a little worried about using cold butter rather than room temp for the cake, but it turned out well. I’ve just icing-ed it. It’s beautiful.
Fantastic! So glad you trusted the recipe and enjoyed it.
And it was absolutely delicious! Love that your recipe makes a generous amount of icing!