The Best Pink Lemonade Frosting
The Best Pink Lemonade Frosting is a creamy buttercream frosting flavored with pink lemonade that is perfect for a Spring or Summer dessert.
Spring is in the air and we are expanding our Buttercream Series to include some new light and delicious flavors that will be great on top of your warm weather treats. Our The Best Pink Lemonade Frosting is light and fresh and creamy with just the perfect amount of tartness. This yummy homemade buttercream frosting will take your Spring or Summer dessert to the next level, we promise!
How to Make
Step 1: Before you begin the process you need to thaw a can of Pink Lemonade Concentrate. Once it has defrosted, add the butter and the liquid pink lemonade concentrate to a mixing bowl. The butter needs to be what we call “slightly softened” which is somewhere between straight out of the refrigerator and room temperature. If the butter is too cold it will be hard to mix with the lemonade concentrate. If it is too soft, it will melt during the mixing process and your frosting will turn out too thin. A note about the flavoring, we used a Pink Lemonade concentrate but this frosting would be equally as yummy if you use a Lemonade Concentrate instead.
Step 2: Mix the butter and the lemonade concentrate together on medium speed until thoroughly combined (about 2 minutes.) You want the lemonade flavor to meld with the butter to get the best-flavored frosting.
Step 3: Use a spatula to scrape the butter mixture down from the sides of the bowl.
Step 4: We use a food scale to measure 1 Pound of Powdered Sugar. If you don’t have a food scale, measure 4 cups instead. We normally do not sift the powdered sugar and instead rely on the mixer to do that work for us.
Step 5: Add the powdered sugar to the butter/lemonade mixture in the mixing bowl.
Step 6: Here is a Two Sisters Tip – cover the mixer with a towel during this part of the mixing process to keep the powdered sugar from flying out of the mixer.
Step 7: Start your mixer (or electric beater) on the lowest setting and keep it on low until the butter and sugar are incorporated (about 30 seconds). Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and then increase the speed to medium-high and mix for another 30-45 seconds so the frosting gets light and fluffy.
Step 8: This step is optional, but we added one drop of Red Food coloring to get this pretty shade of Pink. (If you are using Lemonade, add one small drop of Yellow food coloring.)
Step 9: This is the fun part of the recipe where you get to taste your frosting. You are trying to determine if the consistency and the taste are just right. Does it need Pink Lemonade concentrate? Start with 1 teaspoon and mix again. If it tastes great, test the consistency. Too thick? Add some milk and mix again to check to see if it is now the right consistency. The amount of milk to use depends on the state of your frosting and sometimes the time of year (if it is a hot humid day, you might not need to add any milk.) A good rule of thumb is to add the milk a teaspoon at a time. You can check out our FAQ section below to see some other advice on making the perfect batch of frosting.
How to Serve
How much frosting will you need? That always depends on how thick or thin you apply the frosting or how much decorating you do but here are a couple of guidelines. Our recipe should make enough Lemonade Icing to cover a 9″ x 13″ sheet cake or a two-layer 8″ cake. If you are making cupcakes, you should be able to frost 24 cupcakes if you apply the frosting with a knife. If you swirl on the frosting with a pastry bag you should be able to frost 15-18 cupcakes depending on the size of the swirl.
Expert Tips and FAQ’s
Yes! Most definitely yes! Replace the Pink Lemonade Concentrate with the exact same amount of regular Lemonade Concentrate and you will have The Best Lemonade Frosting you’ve ever tasted!
Yes, this frosting needs to be refrigerated because of the addition of the Lemonade Concentrate. You can leave it out for the duration of a party but leftovers should be refrigerated overnight.
Frosting stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator should be good for up to a week. If you carefully wrap the frosting in order to avoid freezer burn, the frosting should be fine in the freezer for 3-4 months.
Buttercream is a sweet frosting and the addition of the Pink Lemonade Concentrate also ups the sweetness level. One thing you can do if it seems too sweet for your palette is to add a pinch of salt to the frosting. But please note that a little salt goes a long way. We cannot stress enough that a pinch (10-15 granules of regular table salt) is all you usually need. Even 1/4 a teaspoon of salt would probably ruin the frosting. Add the salt and mix again and see if that has cut down on the sweetness level.
Add another teaspoon of milk and mix again. Continue to add the milk, a teaspoon at a time, until the frosting is the consistency that you like it
Temperature plays a big part in the consistency of frosting. A thin frosting could mean that the butter has gotten overworked and is too melted. The first thing to do is refrigerate the frosting for an hour and then check to see if the frosting has set back up again. If not, the next step is to add more powdered sugar or cornstarch. Start with either 1/2 cup of Powdered Sugar or 1 tablespoon of Cornstarch. Mix again and see if the consistency is better.
Yes. You can use Half n’ Half or Whipping Cream or even almond milk or another milk substitute.
Other Frosting Recipes You Will Love
Did you Make This Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!
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The Best Pink Lemonade Frosting
The Best Pink Lemonade Frosting is a creamy buttercream frosting flavored with pink lemonade that is perfect for a Spring or Summer dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter, slightly softened (We use Salted Sweet Cream Butter)
- 1/4 cup Frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate (thawed)
- 1 pound (4 cups) Powdered Sugar
- Red Food Coloring (Optional)
Instructions
- Thaw a can of Pink Lemonade Concentrate.
- Add the butter and the liquid pink lemonade concentrate to a mixing bowl. The butter needs to be what we call “slightly softened” which is somewhere between straight out of the refrigerator and room temperature.
- Mix the butter and the lemonade concentrate together on medium speed until thoroughly combined (about 2 minutes.) You want the lemonade flavor to meld with the butter to get the best-flavored frosting.
- Use a spatula to scrape the butter mixture down from the sides of the bowl.
- Add 1 Pound of Powdered Sugar (or 4 cups) to the butter/lemonade mixture in the mixing bowl.
- Start your mixer (or electric beater) on the lowest setting and keep it on low until the butter and sugar are incorporated (about 30 seconds). Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and then increase the speed to medium-high and mix for another 30-45 seconds so the frosting gets light and fluffy.
- Taste your frosting. You are trying to determine if the consistency and the taste are just right. Does it need Pink Lemonade concentrate? Start with 1 teaspoon and mix again. If it tastes great, test the consistency. Too thick? Add some milk and mix again to check to see if it is now the right consistency. The amount of milk to use depends on the state of your frosting and sometimes the time of year (if it is a hot humid day, you might not need to add any milk.) A good rule of thumb is to add the milk a teaspoon at a time.
- Add one drop of Red Food coloring to get this pretty shade of Pink. (If you are using Lemonade, add one small drop of Yellow food coloring.) (Optional)
Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!
I’m so glad y’all posted these buttercream variations! I just used the pink lemonade on some girly cupcakes and it’s delicious! It’s not too sweet, which is a nice change. I doubled the recipe and needed to use about 1/3 of the can of pink lemonade concentrate to get the right consistency. It piped perfectly!
Thanks, RuthAnn!
I love the whipped cream frosting recipe. Thank you so much. It’s very light and not too sweet compared to buttercream frosting. Love it so much.