Pink Lemonade!

It's been pretty hot up here in Boston, so I wanted my next baking project to be something refreshing for summer. I found it in my pink lemonade cupcake- a light pink cake with a subtle lemonade flavor (achieved by using pink lemonade concentrate in the batter) topped with a tart lemonade buttercream and a royal icing pink 'lemon slice' that I made myself.

Legend has it that pink lemonade has its origins in the circus. It is said that 14-year old Henry "Bunk" Allot stumbled into success when some red cinnamon candies fell into a tub of lemonade he was mixing to sell at a circus concession stand. The resulting pink mixture sold so well compared to it's yellow counterpart that it quickly became a staple of the circus experience. The first print reference to pink lemonade made in 1879 refers to the circus as well, adding more fuel to this legend.

Recipes for pink lemonade date back to 1863, calling for currant juice or strawberries to be added, resulting in 'pretty color and pleasing flavor, a very good drink for summer or for evening parties'