Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

I used to love all the seasons equally when I was growing up, but as I have gotten older I like winter the least. I love the coziness of being indoors during the cold months, I love the first snow and the Christmas season. That is where it ends.

Though we had a pretty mild winter this go around, I thought the one before would never end. It was so cold it hurt. I had to bundle up not only myself but a baby, as well. I had to scrape enough snow to fill the Arctic off of my car and then drive in the mess.

Luckily, this year spring came early and summer is right around the corner!  And when I think of warm weather I think of cook outs, swimming pools and cool drinks. And what has "summer" written all over it? Pink Lemonade!

Around Easter I found a Pillsbury Pink Lemonade cake mix and icing at my grocery store. They were the only ones left. They were waiting for me and I was intrigued enough to buy them.

When using a boxed cake mix, I usually jazz it up with some changes. I use milk instead of water, add chocolate chips, introduce some fantastic flavor emulsions, etc. I prepared this mix according to the box instructions, though looking back I wish I would have added some lemon juice and zest to the batter. While it does have a lemon flavor, it could have a bit more lemon punch.

For the icing, I added to the store bought Pink Lemonade. I combined some of my own buttercream, some lemon juice and lemon zest. The intense lemon flavor of the icing made up for the lack of it in the cake. Everything evened itself out and made for a fabulous Pink Lemonade cupcake!

Want to make your own version of these? Just add a touch of pink food coloring, some lemon juice and a bit of lemon zest to a boxed cake mix and do the same to some store bough icing or your own batch of buttercream. Super easy!

On another note, Happy Birthday to my good friend Ellen! I have a little taste of summer waiting for you!