Arnold Palmer

Lemonade-Iced Tea Cake ft. Iced Tea Frosting
sampled from: here / here / here / here / here

Arnold's back, and I don't mean Schwarzenegger. Last year I made an Arnold Palmer flavored cake for my brother's birthday, but I didn't get the chance to decorate it since it was getting shipped.

So in case you're wondering what an Arnold Palmer cake looks like on the outside, voila. Based on the half lemonade-half iced tea drink which is named for the golfer, the cake starts with a lemon mix with iced tea replacing the water, and the frosting has a slight hint of tea. A light and refreshing summer treat, just like the drink.

When poured in a glass and not shaken or stirred, an Arnold Palmer fades from the darker iced tea down to the lighter lemonade so it is only fitting for the cake to receive the gradient icing treatment as well. Top it off with a vintage juice label and the trademark'd Arnold Palmer Tee umbrella and you're good to golf.

lemonade-iced tea cake
1 box lemon cake mix
4 eggs
1/3 c. oil
1 c. iced tea or Arnold Palmer
--
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease pans with butter or a non-stick spray like PAM.  mixing bowl, use an electric beater to combine cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and  iced tea, on a low speed for 1 minute and a high speed for 1 minute. Pour batter into pans until each is 2/3 of the way full. Bake according to the times on the back of the mix box, depending on the types of pans you are using.

tea frosting
1/2 c. shortening or butter
4 c. confectioner's sugar
3-4 tbsp. iced tea or Arnold Palmer
1 tsp. lemon juice
--
Beat shortening, iced tea, and lemon juice until blended. Slowly add in sugar and continue to mix until frosting forms.

Electrolyte

Lemon-Lime Gatorade Cake ft. Banana-Peanut Butter Frosting

When my co-worker Dijana suggested, nay, challenged me to do a cake based on Gatorade, there was really only one possible answer. The simplest step is to replace the water in the cake mix with the sports drink to give you a nice lemon-lime (or other Gatorade-flavored) cake. But I had settled on the name 'Electrolyte' and thus began to research other types of foods containing these energizing minerals.

Sure, electrolytes can be 'found' in sports drinks, but it is recommended to replenish what you sweat out with natural foods such as fresh produce, bananas (high in potassium), nuts and proteins, soy products, and coconut milk/water. In addition to the Gatorade cake, this frosting has a touch of banana, peanut butter, and coconut water for a smoother, less tangy taste and to get some more 'natural' ingredients in there. It's an interesting combination, but you could definitely use any of the individual recipes (cake, frosting #1, frosting #2) on their own or come up with your own blend.

So whether you're training for a marathon, tend to sweat profusely, or just want to prove that you have it in you, I'll teach you, teach you, teach you, I'll teach you the Electrolyte:

lemon-lime gatorade cake
1 box lemon cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 c. oil
1 c. lemon-lime Gatorade
--
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease pans with butter or a non-stick spray like PAM. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric beater to combine cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and Gatorade, on a low speed for 1 minute and a high speed for 1 minute. Pour batter into pans until each is 2/3 of the way full. Bake according to the times on the back of the mix box, depending on the types of pans you are using.

banana peanut butter frosting (between cake layers)
1/3 c. shortening or butter
1 tbsp. peanut butter
1 tbsp. banana, mashed
2-3 tbsp. coconut water
4 c. confectioners sugar
--
Peel, slice, and mash banana until mostly smooth consistency. Beat shortening, peanut butter, mashed banana, and coconut water until blended. Slowly add in sugar and continue to mix. Add water by the tablespoon if frosting is too thick.

lemon lime frosting
1/4 c. shortening or butter
2 c. confectioners sugar
2-3 tbsp. Gatorade
--
Beat shortening and Gatorade until blended. Slowly add in sugar and continue to mix.

Fiesta

Citrus Margarita Cake ft. Pomegranate Frosting + Confetti Sprinkles

If you're still craving more / recovering from Cinco de Mayo, feel free to prolong the celebration / hangover with another slightly-tequila-infused creation, this time with a sweet citrus cake and a tart pomegranate frosting (one of my favorites to date).

When you take a swing at this festive cake (fork, baseball ball, or other weapon of choice), inside you'll find - what else? confetti! confetti sprinkles, thanks to Amanda's recipe from i am baker. After baking the cake, split it into two equal halves, fill the middle with frosting and a healthy dose of sprinkles, put the top layer back on, and crumb coat the entire thing before using Wilton tip #46/47 for the crepe paper exterior.

Piñatas have become synonymous with Cinco de Mayo and other celebrations, leading to so many more products than just the paper-mache'd treasure chests themselves - cookies, costumes (wear at your own risk), and - just because this is the world we live in - video games.

citrus margarita cake
1 box lemon cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. orange juice
1/4 c. tequila
--
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease pans with butter or a non-stick spray like PAM. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric beater to combine cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, tequila, and orange juice, on a low speed for 1 minute and a high speed for 1 minute. Pour batter into pans until each is 2/3 of the way full. Bake according to the times on the back of the mix box, depending on the types of pans you are using.

pomegranate frosting
1/2 c. vegetable shortening or butter
4 c. confectioners sugar
1 tbsp. tequila
3-4 tbsp. pomegranate juice
--
Beat shortening, tequila, and pomegranate juice in large mixing bowl until blended. Add powdered sugar into bowl one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition until frosting has thickened. Add water by the tablespoon if frosting is too thick.

confetti sprinkles
1 c. confectioners sugar
1-2 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. corn syrup
--
Mix sugar, milk and corn syrup in small bowl until thick syrup/icing forms. Spoon icing into a rolled parchment bag with a small decorating tip or into a plastic bag with the corner slightly snipped. Pipe out dots, zig zags, and other shapes onto a wax-paper-lined baking sheet. Let sprinkles dry for 24 hours, carefully remove with a thin spatula, and fill in between cake layers.