Homemade Pink Lemonade Cake Recipe from Scratch

This Pink Lemonade Cake is moist, tender and full of bright summertime flavor.

Unique and refreshing, Pink Lemonade Cake is an excellent choice when you want something different for birthdays or summer gatherings. It’s a fun twist on classic lemon cakes that both kids and adults enjoy.

Just the Right Amount of Tartness

Unlike a standard lemon cake, this recipe gets an extra burst of tartness from frozen pink lemonade concentrate. The result is a bright, fruity layer cake that’s lively without being overly sweet.

We frost the layers with a tangy lemon cream cheese frosting, which balances the pink lemonade flavor beautifully and adds a silky finish.

Reverse Creaming Method

This cake is made using the Reverse Creaming Method. That means the ingredients are combined in a different order than traditional creaming, producing a slightly denser crumb with a velvety texture. The method yields consistent, sturdy layers that are still tender and moist.

How to Make a Pink Lemonade Cake

Below is a concise overview of the steps—full printable recipe follows.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8 x 2 inch round pans.
2. Whisk dry ingredients (cake flour, sugar, salt, baking powder) together in the mixer bowl.
3. In a separate bowl combine room-temperature eggs, thawed pink lemonade concentrate, lemon extract, lemon zest and milk.
4. With the mixer on low, add sliced butter a few pieces at a time to the dry ingredients. Increase to medium and beat until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Scrape the bowl.
5. On low speed, slowly add half of the egg mixture, then increase to medium and beat 1½ minutes until thick and fluffy. Scrape, then add pink gel coloring if desired.
6. Add the remaining egg mixture in two additions, beating 20 seconds after each.
7. Bake at 350°F for 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
8. Cool in the pans 10 minutes on a wire rack, then remove. The recipe yields about 7 cups of batter and works well for cupcakes too.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

The frosting is a simple, luscious blend of softened cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract. It complements the pink lemonade layers with a silky tang that’s not too sweet. This frosting also pairs well with vanilla, white velvet, lemon, or coconut cakes.

Tips for Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frostings are softer and more heat-sensitive than buttercream. If your frosting is too soft to pipe, chill it briefly to firm it up or add a touch more powdered sugar. To avoid warming the frosting while piping, alternate between two piping bags—keep one chilled while you use the other.

How to Decorate the Pink Lemonade Cake

Layer the cakes with lemon cream cheese frosting and apply a thin crumb coat. For a simple elegant look, pipe vertical lines around the sides using a small round tip, piping from bottom to top. For the top, a French tip (Ateco 869) can be used to pipe stars all over for a quick, attractive finish.

More Lemon Recipes

If you enjoy lemon desserts, try other lemon-forward cakes such as Lemonade Pound Cake or Strawberry Lemonade Cake. There are many lemon cake variations that highlight bright citrus flavor and pair well with cream cheese or buttercream frostings.

Have you made this? We’d love your rating, comment and a photo if you’d like to share your results.

Pink Lemonade Cake from Scratch

This moist pink lemonade layer cake balances tart, bright flavor with a luscious lemon cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Servings: 15 servings

Ingredients

For the Pink Lemonade Cake Layers

• 2 ½ cups (285g) cake flour
• 1 ½ cups (300g) sugar
• ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
• 2 ½ teaspoons (12g) baking powder
• 1 ½ sticks (169g) unsalted butter, slightly softened (cut into ½ inch slices)
• 4 large eggs
• ¾ cup (190g) frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
• ½ cup (121g) milk
• 2 teaspoons (7g) lemon extract
• zest of 1 lemon
• pink coloring gel (optional)

For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, slightly softened but cool to the touch
• 16 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons (8g) lemon juice (optional)
• 1 teaspoon (4g) lemon extract
• Zest from 1 lemon (about 1½ teaspoons)
• 6 to 6½ cups (690–747g) confectioners’ sugar, start with 6 cups and increase to taste

Instructions

For the Cake Layers

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8 x 2 inch round pans.
• In the mixer bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder for 30 seconds.
• In a separate bowl combine the eggs, pink lemonade concentrate, lemon extract, lemon zest and milk.
• With the mixer on low, add the slices of butter a few pieces at a time to the dry ingredients. Increase to medium and beat until the mixture looks crumbly like coarse sand. Scrape the bowl.
• On low speed slowly add half of the egg mixture. Increase to medium and beat 1½ minutes until the batter is thick and fluffy. Scrape the bowl and add pink gel color if desired.
• Add the remaining egg mixture in two additions, beating about 20 seconds after each addition.
• Bake at 350°F for 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
• Let the cakes cool in the pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
• Makes about 7 cups of batter and works well for cupcakes.

For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cut the butter into ½ inch slices and beat in the mixer until smooth.
• Cut the cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, beating until blended.
• Add lemon juice and lemon zest. For a stronger flavor, add an extra teaspoon of lemon extract.
• Gradually add powdered sugar until the frosting is well blended and reaches your desired consistency.
• This frosting pipes best when chilled. You can make it ahead, refrigerate, then let it soften slightly and remix before using. Do not microwave to soften.

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