Taste of Summer

Ahhhh. Finally summer! To be honest I'm not sure what my favorite part of summer is. Wether it's the freedom, the nicer weather, or the food. Oh my, so many potlucks, BBQs and picniks! Well to kick of the summer I had a group of friends over to swim and eat. Unfortunately, the weather was not the best it could have been so the swimming was minimal but the food was fantastic. Everyone brought something from these gorgeous local field strawberries....

To these perogies.

And incase you all were wondering what I made. It was these pink lemonade cupcakes.

I don't think anything tastes more like summer than lemonade and pink lemonade? All the better! The cupcakes were great. Very sweet with a bit of sour which came mostly from the icing and a really nice spongy texture. Typically, I'm not one to decorate my food because I can never seem to find icing tips or other little additions. Luckily, my friend brought over her icing tips and these pretty paper parasols to add a little extra to the cupcakes. And finally, for those of you who wish to try the recipe here it is:

From Sweet Cheeks in the Kitchen:

Source: Simply Sweet Bake Shop
Yield: 9 Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1/3 c. thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1/4 c. buttermilk
Pink food coloring

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with liners. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth.
3. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.
4. Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting (see below).

Lemonade Buttercream:
3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
Pink food coloring

1. Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined.
2. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

I will definitely be making these again. Maybe in cake form? yummm. Hope everyone is having a great start to their summer and I will be talking to you all very soon.