Cupcakes, Lemonade and Summer Time
I can’t believe the end of the school year is here. Three more days for my kids. They’re both happy and busy. And I’m the same way. I’ve been busy getting some “things” in place with my books and writing. I’m looking forward to spending time with my family, but I’m feeling a bit scrambled right now. It seems that we’re always doing something in the summer. Because we are busy it feels like I am often squeezing things in. Quick and easy is the theme of summer for me.
Last weekend, when I found out that I needed to bring a dish to a picnic I decided a dessert would be good, particularly cake. Keeping hot food hot and cold food cold is always a challenge at potlucks. No reason to worry about that with cake! To keep with my quick and easy summer credo, I started consulting my collection of Cake Mix Doctor (by Anne Byrn) cookbooks. Yes, made from scratch cakes are best, but the author has some great ideas to dress up time saving mixes. There is also advice on choosing the right cake mix for a recipe, substitutions and tips for working with mixes in all of her books. I settled on a recipe from Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor: Lemonade Angel Cakes.
Not only were they delicious, they were also easy and inexpensive. After reading through the recipe I had expected a subtle lemon flavor, but I was pleasantly surprised at how lemony they turned out to be. Combine the refreshing lemon with a light cake texture and they were heavenly! My daughter proclaimed that we would have to make them again soon. I topped them with a whipped frosting from a can, because I was again afraid the recommended lemon cream cheese icing wouldn’t hold up well in warm weather. Honestly, I liked the cupcakes better without the icing.
I really like this recipe as it is, but I can’t help but think there are many ways it could be changed and customized. Sounds like some experiments are in order this summer. Until I come up with my own version of this recipe, I thought I’d share the original one.
Lemonade Angel Cakes
Author: By Anne Byrn
Serves: 22-24 cupcakes
This recipe is from “Cupcakes! From The Cake Mix Doctor” by Anne Byrn
Ingredients
1 – 16 oz. package angel food cake mix
¾ cup water
½ cup thawed, frozen lemonade concentrate
24 paper cupcake liners
Instructions
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcakes cups with the liners and set aside.
Place the cake mix, water and lemonade concentrate in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, scraping down sides again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Spoon ⅓ cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it ¾ full. Remove any unused liners (makes 22-24 cupcakes). Place the pans in the oven.
Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 20-22 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and continue to let them cool on wire racks, at least 15 minutes before frosting.
Can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week.
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This post is linked to Weekend Cooking at Beth Fish Reads
