I decided to bake some cupcakes for our office Cinco de Mayo party because they're festive and easy to serve. And I have a cupcake stand that lives permanently in my office (I own a lot of cupcake stands and still have plenty at home) so it's available whenever a cupcake-serving situation arises at work. I used a recipe for "Margarita Cupcakes" from Sally's Baking Addiction.
I decided to keep the cupcakes alcohol-free, which makes them lime cupcakes with lime frosting. You make the cupcake batter by creaming butter and sugar; mixing in eggs and vanilla; alternately adding the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) and milk; and incorporating lime juice and zest. I got 14 full-sized cupcakes from each batch of batter.
The frosting is a mixture of butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, lime oil, milk, and salt (as suggested, the milk was a substitution for tequila). I didn't think there was enough lime flavor from a teaspoon of Boyajian lime oil, so I also added some lime crystals that I bought a few months ago from nuts.com when I was experimenting with techniques to add flavors to baked goods. The lime crystals are comprised of crystallized lime juice, vitamin c, and sugar. I added a tablespoon of the crystals to the frosting and it definitely boosted the lime flavor. I piped the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and sprinkled on a little coarse sugar for garnish. I had a significant amount of frosting left over even though I used a generous amount of each cupcake and had more cupcakes than the specified yield.
Even without alcohol, these cupcakes were a huge hit at our party and they were the first dessert to go. I liked the cupcake, although the lime flavor in the cake was a bit muted. By contrast, the frosting was super zingy and many tasters commented on the intensity of the lime flavor. I can't help but wonder if lime crystals might be a good idea for the cupcake batter as well.
I definitely consider these cupcakes a success and can imagine that if you brushed the cupcakes with tequila and included alcohol in the frosting, they would be super margarita-y. Fortunately, for folks who wanted that experience, we were serving the real thing at our party. And for people who just wanted a bright and refreshing citrus cupcake, we had these!
Recipe: "Margarita Cupcakes" from Sally's Baking Addiction.
Previous Post: "Ready for the Fiesta!: Margarita Chiffon Cake," May 21, 2013.
I decided to keep the cupcakes alcohol-free, which makes them lime cupcakes with lime frosting. You make the cupcake batter by creaming butter and sugar; mixing in eggs and vanilla; alternately adding the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) and milk; and incorporating lime juice and zest. I got 14 full-sized cupcakes from each batch of batter.
The frosting is a mixture of butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, lime oil, milk, and salt (as suggested, the milk was a substitution for tequila). I didn't think there was enough lime flavor from a teaspoon of Boyajian lime oil, so I also added some lime crystals that I bought a few months ago from nuts.com when I was experimenting with techniques to add flavors to baked goods. The lime crystals are comprised of crystallized lime juice, vitamin c, and sugar. I added a tablespoon of the crystals to the frosting and it definitely boosted the lime flavor. I piped the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and sprinkled on a little coarse sugar for garnish. I had a significant amount of frosting left over even though I used a generous amount of each cupcake and had more cupcakes than the specified yield.
I definitely consider these cupcakes a success and can imagine that if you brushed the cupcakes with tequila and included alcohol in the frosting, they would be super margarita-y. Fortunately, for folks who wanted that experience, we were serving the real thing at our party. And for people who just wanted a bright and refreshing citrus cupcake, we had these!
Recipe: "Margarita Cupcakes" from Sally's Baking Addiction.
Previous Post: "Ready for the Fiesta!: Margarita Chiffon Cake," May 21, 2013.
Comments