Are you looking for a unique and flavorful frosting to take your baked goods to the next level? Look no further than pink lemonade buttercream frosting! This sweet and tangy frosting is the perfect combination to cakes, cupcakes, and cookies, and is sure to delight your taste buds with its refreshing flavor.
Pink Lemonade Buttercream Recipe
Lemonade is a staple in our house during the summer, from homemade fresh lemonade, watermelon lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, and Berry Lemonade I am always making lemonade. It made sense that I also came up with a lemonade frosting to put on our cupcakes during the summer.
With a light and fluffy texture and a refreshing lemonade flavor, this bakery-style buttercream is perfect for your summer cupcakes.
This pink lemonade recipe has the perfect sweet but tangy lemon flavor you love when you are drinking a cold glass of lemonade.
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How much frosting does this recipe make?
This recipe makes enough frosting for frosting 24 cupcakes. If you are making a larger amount of cupcakes or a cake you can easily double this recipe so you have enough frosting.
What Can I use this frosting recipe for?
- Decorating a cake: Lemonade buttercream frosting pairs perfectly with many cake flavors and it is one of my favorites to use when I am making summer cakes. You can spread it over the top of the cake and decorate it with it. It can also be used between layers when making a layer cake.
- Cupcakes. Use pink lemonade buttercream to top cupcakes for an awesome cupcake recipe as this frosting looks beautiful when piped on cupcakes. We love using this recipe to frost fluffy lemon cupcakes, lemon raspberry cupcakes and strawberry cupcakes.
- Cookies. Buttercream frosting can be used as a filling between two cookies or as a frosting on top of your favorite cookie recipe. I like to change things up and use it when making cookie sandwiches and use this frosting with my lemon cookies, funfetti cookies, and strawberry cookies.
What Cake Flavors pair with this frosting recipe?
Personally, I love to make this buttercream and use it to make Strawberry lemonade cupcakes, but you can also use this frosting on other cake flavors as well.
Vanilla Cupcakes. The tartness of lemon cake and the sweetness of pink lemonade frosting make for a delicious combination.
White cake or white cupcakes. The light and fluffy texture of white cake provide a perfect canvas for the bold flavor of lemonade frosting.
Angel food cake or angel food cupcakes. The airy and light texture of angel food cake makes it a great match for the sweet and fruity strawberry frosting.
Vanilla cake or vanilla cupcakes. The sweetness of vanilla cake complements the fruity flavor of strawberry frosting very well.
Lemon cake or lemon cupcakes. The tartness of lemon cake and the sweetness of pink lemonade frosting make for a delicious combination.
Can I use pink lemonade buttercream frosting on any type of cake or cupcake?
Yes! This buttercream frosting will work as a filling for cakes, frosting the top of cakes and decorating them along with piping on top of cupcakes.
Tips for Making Pink Lemonade Buttercream Frosting
Make the frosting the day before you are going to use it. The key to this frosting is making sure you let it sit overnight so the powder will start to absorb into the frosting. If not it has almost a grainy texture to it.
Use a stand mixer. You may use a handheld mixer to make this but I prefer my stand mixer. That way I do not have to stand there for ten minutes mixing it up. I will say I have broken three handheld mixers because they are just not strong enough to hold up to my baking so it is well worth the investment to get a KitchenAid Mixer!
Use a low speed. When adding the powdered sugar, use a low speed on your mixer to prevent the sugar from flying out of the bowl.
Add the powdered sugar gradually. Add the powdered sugar gradually, a little bit at a time, while continuing to beat the butter. This will help prevent lumps and ensure a smooth texture.
Use high-quality ingredients. Use high-quality butter and powdered sugar for the best results. It’s also a good idea to use pure vanilla extract instead of imitation vanilla.
Use room temperature ingredients. Make sure your butter and any other ingredients you’re using are at room temperature before starting. This will help ensure a smooth and creamy texture.
More pink coloring. I love the light pink color you get from the powdered lemonade, but if you want it to be a bit pinker use a drop or 2 of pink food coloring or one drop of red food coloring when you are making the frosting.
Can I use regular butter for pink lemonade buttercream frosting, or do I need to use unsalted butter?
For this buttercream frosting recipe you want to use unsalted butter, using salted butter with this will add a salty flavor that does not work well with pink lemonade flavor.
How long can I keep pink lemonade buttercream frosting in the fridge before it goes bad?
The buttercream can be stored at room temperature for up to three days or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. If you have already frosted a cake or cupcakes this buttercream frosting can sit out for up to 3 days.
How many days in advance can I make Buttercream frosting?
You can make this buttercream frosting 3 days in advance of when you want to use it and store it at room temperature. You can make this buttercream frosting up to 2 weeks ahead of time if you are going to store it in the fridge.
When you bring it out of the refrigerator let it sit at room temperature for two hours. Then re-whip it for ten minutes to bring it back to life.
How to Store Buttercream Frosting
The buttercream can be stored at room temperature for up to three days. Store in the refrigerator: If you’re not using your frosting right away, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Can you Freeze Pink Lemonade Buttercream?
You can freeze strawberry buttercream frosting for up to 3 months.
How to re-whip buttercream frosting after storing in the fridge
When you bring it out of the refrigerator let it sit at room temperature for two hours. Then re-whip it for ten minutes to bring it back to life.
Tips for Decorating with this frosting
- Make an icing swirl. If you have always wanted to make an icing swirl so you have pretty cupcakes, check out this step by step guide on how to make an icing swirl. It really changes the look of your cupcakes!
- Swirl frosting on top of cupcakes. If you are using different flavored frostings and want them both on top of your cupcake swirled together, check out how to swirl two icing flavors. If you want to layer your frosting flavors, check out the layered frosting swirl!
- Use a frosting bag. Piping frosting on cupcakes is easy, the hardest part is filling a pastry bag with the frosting and not making a mess. Check out this post for the easy way to fill a pastry bag with frosting.
- Use a rubber spatula. If you are going to frost a full cake then use a rubber spatula to scoop the frosting on top of the cake, then use an angled spatial to frost the cake.
How do I thicken a thin buttercream frosting?
There are 2 ways to make your frosting thicker if you need to.
- Add more powdered sugar. The most common way to thicken buttercream frosting is by adding more powdered sugar. Start with a small amount, such as a quarter cup, and mix it into the frosting until it is fully incorporated. Continue adding powdered sugar a little at a time until the frosting reaches the desired consistency.
- Chill the frosting. If your buttercream is too soft, you can try chilling it in the refrigerator for a few minutes. This will help the butter to firm up and the frosting to thicken.
How to thin out buttercream if it is too thick
If you find that your buttercream frosting is too thick you can easily thin it out. To thin out, the buttercream add a small amount of liquid and mix until the frosting has reached your desired consistency. I start by adding a tablespoon at a time. For this buttercream frosting, you can use hot water or heavy cream. You can also continue to whip the frosting. Whipping the frosting for a few minutes extra will add air to the frosting and will make it lighter and fluffier which can help thin it out.
Do I have to have a stand mixer?
I prefer using a stand mixer and I love my KitchenAid mixer. However, if you don’t have a stand mixer and only have a hand electric mixer you can make this recipe still. You will want to use an electric mixer and a large mixing bowl instead of the stand mixer.
Pink Lemonade Buttercream Ingredients
- butter
- shortening
- confectioners sugar
- hot water
- pink lemonade powder
- vanilla extract
How to make Pink Lemonade Buttercream Frosting
In the bowl of a stand mixer add the butter and the shortening.
Mix on medium speed until they are creamed together and get creamy and fluffy. If needed scrape sides of bowl to get all of the mixture to the bottom of the bowl.
Turn the mixer speed to the lowest setting and slowly as in the powdered sugar.
Once you have added in all of the sugar, keep the mixer going and add in the pink lemonade mix, hot water, and vanilla extract.
Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and continue mixing for 10 minutes until light and fluffy.
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Pink lemonade buttercream frosting recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 1 cup shortening
- 2 pounds confectioners sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons hot water
- 3/4 cup pink lemonade powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the butter and the shortening.
- Mix on medium speed until they are creamed together and get creamy and fluffy. If needed scrape sides of bowl to get all of the mixture to the bottom of the bowl.
- Turn the mixer speed to the lowest setting and slowly as in the powdered sugar.
- Once you have added in all of the sugar, keep the mixer going and add in the pink lemonade mix, hot water, and vanilla extract.
- Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and continue mixing for 10 minutes until light and fluffy.
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