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Let me introduce you to the sunniest, brightest cake in my recipe box—and also one of the easiest! This Lemonade Cake takes a boxed cake mix, infuses it with lemonade concentrate, and tops it with a rich, creamy lemon frosting for the perfect summertime dessert!
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Pin RecipeLemonade cake makes me think of lazy summer afternoons on the porch with a tall glass of freshly squeezed lemonade. Turn that relaxed feeling into a cake and you’ve nailed the vibe of this recipe!
All you need to make this recipe is a box of cake mix, frozen lemonade concentrate, plus a few other pantry ingredients. The sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting is absolutely irresistible, so don’t skip it!
(For more of my favorite lemon recipes, check out my Lemon Pound Cake, Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie, Lemon Cupcakes, Lemon Bundt Cake, or Lemon Bars, too!)
Ingredients You’ll Need
In addition to the boxed cake mix, you’ll just need a few more simple ingredients. (You probably have a lot of them on hand already!)
Cake
- 1 box (15.25 ounces) lemon cake mix
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup frozen lemonade concentrate
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Frosting
- ½ cup cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
How to Make Lemonade Cake
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350℉ and grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- Make the Batter: Add the cake mix, milk, vanilla, oil, and eggs to a large mixing bowl and whisk together to form a smooth, thick batter.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. The cake should be golden brown and spring back to the touch. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes.
- Add the Lemonade: While the cake is cooling, mix the cup of lemonade concentrate with the cup of powdered sugar. Use a fork to prick the cake all over the surface, making small, even holes across the cake. Pour the lemonade and sugar mix over the top of the cake, letting it soak into the cake as you slowly pour.
- Chill: Put the cake in the fridge to cool for about an hour.
- Make the Frosting: While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is well mixed. Add the powdered sugar and lemonade concentrate to the frosting and beat until light and fluffy.
- Frost: Spread the frosting over the top of the cooled cake and enjoy!
Kasey’s Kitchen Tips
- Use whole milk for a tender crumb. You can use any milk you have on hand in the fridge to make this recipe, but if you want a really fantastic tender crumb, go with whole milk. That extra fat is amazing for a cake’s texture!
- Don’t forget to soften the cream cheese and butter. It’s key to a smooth and creamy frosting. And also be sure to use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese, not cream cheese from a tub.
- Sift the powdered sugar. Sift the powdered sugar into the frosting mixture rather than dumping it in all at once. Sometimes powdered sugar right out of the bag is clumpy, which means your frosting will also be full of little lumps.
Serving Suggestions
This easy lemonade cake recipe is great to serve on its own, but if you want to jazz it up, serve it…
- With fruit: Sliced strawberries or blueberries would be amazing served with slices of lemonade cake! You can serve them fresh or macerate them in a little sugar to make them jammy. Or take a cue from my Lemon Coconut Cake and dust the top with coconut.
- With vanilla ice cream: It’s hard to go wrong with vanilla ice cream!
- With whipped cream: A dollop of sweetened store-bought or homemade whipped cream is also delicious.
How to Store
Refrigerator: Store leftover lemonade cake tightly covered with plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 5 days. Serve cold from the fridge or at room temperature.
Freezer: Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
Lemonade Cake
Equipment
- 1 9×13 baking dish
- 2 Mixing bowls
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 box (15.25 ounces) lemon cake mix
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup frozen lemonade concentrate
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Frosting
- ½ cup cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ and grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- Add the cake mix, milk, vanilla, oil, and eggs to a large mixing bowl and whisk together to form a smooth, thick batter.1 box (15.25 ounces) lemon cake mix, ½ cup vegetable oil, 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 eggs
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. The cake should be golden brown and spring back to the touch.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, mix the cup of lemonade concentrate with the cup of powdered sugar.1 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, 1 cup powdered sugar
- Use a fork to prick the cake all over the surface, making small, even holes across the cake.
- Pour the lemonade and sugar mix over the top of the cake, letting it soak into the cake as you slowly pour.
- Put the cake in the fridge to cool for about an hour.
- While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is well mixed.½ cup cream cheese, softened, ½ cup salted butter, softened
- Add the powdered sugar and lemonade concentrate to the frosting and beat until light and fluffy.3 ½ cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
- Spread the frosting over the top of the cooled cake and enjoy!
Nutrition
Did you make this easy Lemonade Cake recipe? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
It’s so beautiful and yummy
Hi,
No big deal but you forgot to mention one of the ingredients, vanilla extract, in the recipe.
Thank you for catching that, Connie!