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If you like Pink Lemonade, you'll like these! They have the same tart but sweet taste.

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
• 2 or more drops red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners.

Directions

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

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. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.

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
Red food coloring

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. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Ingredients:

• 1 Coffee Mug
• 4 tablespoons flour (that's plain flour, not self-rising)
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
• Small splash of vanilla

Directions:

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well . Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. Put a fork in it!

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

Lighten it up: substitute Spenda for the sugar and applesauce for the oil and low fat or skim milk.

This is a recipe from my husbands family and it has been passed down for a few generations. The outside is nice and crusty with a great texture to the pound cake.

Ingredients

• 3 C Sugar (I substituted 3 C Splenda and 1 1/2 t baking soda this time)
• 2 sticks of butter - softened
• ½ C Shortening
• 5 Eggs
• 3 C Cake Flour
• ½ t Baking Powder
• ¼ C Milk
• 1 C Sour Cream
• 1 t Vanilla
• 1 t Lemon Flavoring (for today's cake I did not add the lemon flavoring)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and shortening; gradually add sugar a little at a time until all blended. Add the eggs, one at a time; beating well.

Sift together the flour and baking powder then add a little at a time to the creamed mixture, alternating the flour with the milk. Add the sour cream, vanilla and lemon flavoring until mixed well. Grease and flour a Bundt pan, then pour in the cake batter. Tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to remove any air pockets.

Bake 325 for 1 ½ hours If you use Splenda shorten the cooking time by about 10 minutes. The usual toothpick test works.
DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR WHILE BAKING!
The finished cake! I saw no loss of volume compared to the full sugar version...

When I make the regular "full sugar" recipe I make this icing:
Icing
• 1 stick of Butter - softened
• 1 box of sifted Confectioners’ Sugar
• 3 oz pkg. of Cream Cheese - softened
• 1 Lemon Rind – grated
• 3 to 4 T lemon juice
Cream softened butter and cream cheese together, mixing well. Add small amounts of the sifted conf. sugar and continue creaming until all the sugar has been added. Add lemon juice, as needed, until it is the right consistency to spread on cooled cake. Stir in the lemon rind, then ice!

Lighter Icing
But for today's cake I used 2/3 stick of butter and halved the sugar and left out the lemon to make a lighter icing to drizzle on. Spoon it into a baggie, snip a small corner off and drizzle away!



Slice it up and put a fork in it! Enjoy!

Today we'll start with the cake. This is a really old recipe for carrot cake and has a slightly different texture than some of the more current versions. But the taste is extraordinary!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) round pans; Line bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, blend until combined. Add carrots and pecans, if using.
Pour into pans. Bake for approximately 40 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool in pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, place on waxed paper or wire racks and allow to cool completely before filling and frosting.

Tomorrow, the Apricot Mousse Filling followed by Thursday the Cream Cheese Icing and our finished cake!



Hey it's Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum!

Crust:

• 1 1/3 C All Purpose Flour
• ½ t Salt
• 2/3 C Shortening
• 3 T Water

Directions:

Mix flour and salt together; add shortening and cut into flour with fork or pastry blender. Add water and mix gently with fork in a stirring motion. Gather pastry into a ball and place in the pie plate. With the tips of your fingers, spread pastry along the bottom and sides of pie plate, shaping the edge, either fluted or press with fork tines.

Preheat oven to 400

Filling:
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