Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Look what I made tonight!

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  I HATE leavening!  Baking without eggs is so doable, but before I make a recipe I have to decide, is the egg for leavening or binding.  Sometimes it needs both, like tonight.  If you recall from last week I found pink lemonade frosting at the store.  Pillsbury also made a cake mix to go with their new frosting but I couldn't use it.  Time to experiment.  

I found a recipe on food.com and it already had baking soda in it along with lemonade concentrate.

Well, if you don't know this, baking soda and lemon juice can be used to replace egg when used for leavening.  So I figured why not just increase the baking soda and omit the eggs.  Well, now that I tried it, I learned that the eggs in this original recipe were for binding and the baking soda for the leavening.  How did I remedy this in attempt number two?  I reduced the baking soda back to original and added 1/4 cup applesauce, said a prayer, and crossed my fingers.  It worked!

This recipe is quick to throw together.  I had it mixed and in the tins by the time the oven was preheated.  Just remember because we are using baking soda and lemon, you have to get it combined quickly and if you over stir the cakes won't rise.  It really is simple though.  Here's the recipe.  It makes one dozen cupcakes.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. canola oil

1/3 c. frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed ( I used minute maid)

1/4 c. buttermilk replacement ( 1/4 c. soy milk + 1/2 tsp. vinegar and let it sit 5 min)

Preheat oven to 350 and combine the flour, baking soda, and sugar in a medium bowl.  Pour wet ingredients on top and stir until combined.  Spoon the batter into paper lined cupcake tins, filling about 2/3 full.  Bake for 16-18 minutes.  Let cool on a wire rack and then frost and enjoy.  

Since there is so little buttermilk called for in this recipe I think that you might be able to just substitute any milk of your choice.  But then again, I did make collapsed cupcakes once tonight.  I will try it with rice milk next time and update the page.  That way it could be a soy free cake as well.