Pink Lemonade Stand Cake

Yummy lemon cake and cream cheese frosting!

This cake sounds super special and worth the fuss in making it.  I would not suggest this cake for a beginner baker.

Such a pretty cake!

Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons seedless strawberry jam, warmed
2 tablespoons thawed pink lemonade concentrate
2 tablespoons grenadine syrup
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1-1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons grated lemon peel
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

FROSTING:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons thawed pink lemonade concentrate, divided
Pink sprinkles

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Line bottoms of three greased 8-in. round baking pans with parchment paper; grease paper.

Whisk the first five ingredients until blended in a small bowl . 

Cream butter, sugar and lemon peel in a large bowl until light and fluffy. 

Add eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. 

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beating well after each addition.

Transfer batter to prepared pans. 

Bake 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove paper. Cool completely.

For frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese and lemon peel until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar and 1/3 cup lemonade concentrate. If necessary, refrigerate until spreadable, up to 1 hour.

Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Brush 1 tablespoon lemonade concentrate over cake; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cake layer; brush remaining lemonade concentrate over top.

Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake.

Decorate with sprinkles. Refrigerate until serving. 

Yield: 12 servings.

Nutritional Facts

1 slice (calculated without optional decorations): 732 calories, 39g fat (24g saturated fat), 172mg cholesterol, 291mg sodium, 91g carbohydrate (68g sugars, 1g fiber), 7g protein

Source

Homemade Lemonade

Since we have lemon and lime trees, I love to make homemade lemonade, but did not have a good recipe until now.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Linda Larsen, About.com . . . love this website for reference on just about anything!  The source link follows the recipe.

The secret to this lemonade recipe is to use simple syrup, made by boiling together sugar and water, then cooling. The sugar is completely dissolved and blends beautifully with the tart lemon.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• Juice from 4-6 lemons
• 4 cups cold water
• Mint sprigs

Preparation:

Blend 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar well in small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves completely. Let cool and refrigerate. (This is the simple syrup.)

Mix the simple syrup well with the juice from 4-6 lemons (strained or not, as you like) and stir well. Add 4 cups cold water and mix. Try using sparkling water for some fizz! Pour into thermos or large jug, adding thin lemon slices if you'd like, or garnish with mint sprigs.

Make more lemonade and freeze it in ice cube trays, adding the cubes to the lemonade so it's never diluted as the 'ice' melts.

You can increase the amounts of this recipe proportionately, depending on the amount of lemonade you want.

Source