Red Velvet Cupcakes

What is better than a moist chocolate cake? I’ll tell you….a moist chocolate cake, colored red, and topped with the creamiest cream-cheese frosting you could imagine. That my friends, is better than moist chocolate cake!

Red Velvet cake and I used to have a bittersweet relationship…I could never get the recipe right. That was until I found a recipe that I actually like. I adapted this recipe from Bobbly Flay’s show “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” . Enjoy the recipe, and enjoy all the praises you get when you pass these little guys out. Happy tuesday!!

My Red Velvet Masterpieces

Red Velvet Cupcakes (adapted from “Throwdown with Bobby Flay”)

Makes 16 Large cupcakes – 24 regular size cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 4 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 ½  granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 3  large eggs
• 2 tsp of red food coloring
• 1/8 cup of water
• 2 tsp of vanilla
• 1 ¼ tsp of vinegar (white or apple cider)

Directions

Preheat oven 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside. (**Sifting is very important here – I usually skip sifting, but I don’t skip it in this recipe because without sifting, your cupcakes won’t be fluffy and moist.)

In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined. Add eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well. Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time and mix on low, scraping down sides occasionally, and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix, or the batter will come out tough.

Line a 16-cup cupcake pan with paper liners, scoop the batter into the liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool

Creamy Dreamy Crean Cheese Frosting

• 2 packages of 8 oz. Cream Cheese
• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 tbs of vanilla extract
• 2 Sticks of unsalted Butter

Cream together cream cheese and butter – Mix on high speed up soft and well combined

Add the powder sugar one cup at a time – mixing thoroughly after each cup

Add in the vanilla and mix well

Beat on medium high speed until desired consistency is achieved.

ENJOY!!

Friday Edition of Cupcake Cocktails

Happy Friday everyone! You have survived the week and only have a few hours left until the weekend is yours!! Last friday I posted a recipe for an oh-so-delish margarita cupcake (http://fontgirl.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/). This Friday however, I am all about the Strawberry Lemon Malibu Cupcake!

Enjoy the recipe and remember to eat responsibly

Strawberry Lemon Malibu Cupcakes

Photos by: www.iheartcuppycakes.com

Makes about 12 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For lemon cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) salted butter, softened
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

For malibu  meringue buttercream
2 egg whites at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
12 tbsp (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened
2 tablespoons Malibu Caribbean Rum, coconut flavor, to taste

For Strawberry Puree

15 Strawberries – 3 tbs of sugar – 2 tsp of lemon juice

 

INSTRUCTIONS

To make cupcakes—
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line pan with cupcake liners.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and stir to combine.

In the bowl of your mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat until well-blended on medium speed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the lemon zest and juice.

Fill each cupcake cup about two-thirds full and bake for about 17-22 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

To make buttercream—
Beat the egg whites in the bowl of your mixer with the whisk attachment until frothy, then add the cream of tartar and beat just before stiff peaks form.

Meanwhile, stir together the sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved and washing down side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. When syrup reaches a boil, put your candy thermometer into it and continue boiling, without stirring, until it reaches about 238-242 degrees Fahrenheit.

Immediately remove from heat, and slowly pour the hot syrup in a thin stream into the egg whites, beating constantly at high speed and making sure to not pour directly on the side of the bowl. Beat meringue until the bowl is cool to the touch.

Change out your whisk for your paddle attachment and scrapes down the sides of the bowl. On medium speed, gradually add butter about two pieces at a time, beating well after each addition until incorporated. Continue beating until buttercream is smooth. (Mixture may look curdled before all butter is added, but will come back together before beating is finished. If that doesn’t work, try chilling it a bit in case your meringue was too hot.) Finally, add the Malibu and mix thoroughly

To make puree—
Mash the strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar together. Heat to a slow boil over medium heat. Let cool before you drizzle on cupcakes.

To assemble cupcake—
Pipe the Malibu frosting on each cupcake. Drizzle some strawberry puree on top. Garnish with a strawberry if desired.

Lemon Berry Treats

Can someone please tell me how this summer flew by so quickly?? It’s so true that the older you get, the faster time goes. I don’t like it one bit! The only solace I find is that with the end of summer comes the arrival of Fall, which means an entirely new palette of flavors to work with. Not to mention all the holidays I will be baking for. When I think of Fall I think of carrot cake, and spice cake, and oatmeal cookies, and all sorts of “feel-good” homemade treats. While I am excited to start baking new flavors of the season, I am sad that I have to say goodbye to the whims of summer fun.

I created this recipe for Lemon Berry cupcakes because to me, it truly represents all things summer. Enjoy the recipe!

Lemon Berry Cupcakes decorated with a pink and black theme for a bridal shower.

Lemon Cupcakes (the quick version)  

1 Box of Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Cake Mix

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 1/3 cup of water

1 lemon

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

(**For 100% homemade cupcakes, I enjoy this lemon cake recipe: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/lemon-cream-cupcakes/Detail.aspx**)

Directions

1. Prepare the batter according to the directions on the back of the box.
2. Add 1 tsp of vanilla to the batter, mix well
3. Add ¼ cup of lemon juice
4. Add lemon zest of one medium size lemon
5. Mix all ingredients together and pour into baking cups.
6. Bake as directed on the box.

Berry Filling

1 box of strawberries (at least 15 strawberries)

1 bog of blueberries (2 ½ cups)

3 cups of sugar

¼ cup of cornstarch

Directions

1. Wash the berries
2. Cut the strawberries
3. Place berries in a bowl and mash them together (I used a potato masher)
4. Pour berries into a pan and add 3 cups of sugar.
5. Stir until combined
6. Let boil (stirring occasionally) for 7-10 minutes until it starts to thicken.
7. Turn to low heat and add cornstarch (be sure to add the cornstarch to cold water before adding it to the hot mixture – reference the directions on the side of the cornstarch box)
8. Remove from heat, let cool completely

Berry filling - yum!!

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
• 8 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (about 2 lbs.)
• 2 tablespoons milk

 Makes: About 5 1/2 cups of icing.

 In medium mixer bowl, cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add sugar one cup at a time and milk. Mix well. Beat on high until smooth (only 30 seconds to 1 minute). Thin to ice cake smooth; use full strength for piping borders.

NOTE: Do not use light cream cheese or butter substitute. If margarine is used, icing will be softer.

Now, for the fun part! Use an apple corer (or a small knife) to carve out little holes in each cupcake – don’t throw away the part of the cupcake you remove, you will need to use it to fill the hole once the filling has been inserted.

Once you have a hole in each cupcake, fill the cupcake with berry filling. It is easiest to put the filling in a piping bag (a Ziploc bag will work too). Be sure you don’t  overfill the cupcakes. Once filled – cover the hole with the piece of cupcake you removed.

Pipe cream-cheese frosting on the cupcake and decorate as desired.

Cupcakes should be refrigerated.

Enjoy!! Till Next time, stay sweet. xoxo

Marshmallow Monday!

Homemade Marshmallows

 

“Marshmallows? Why would you make marshmallows?”

“I think marshmallows from the bag already taste good enough”

“Good luck being better than Jet-Puff”

“It’s going to be a sticky, messy disaster”

“Good- Luck!”

Well, everyone, EAT YOUR WORDS, and my marshmallows!! My attempt at homemade marshmallows, while anticipated by most as an over ambitious and highly unnecessary activity, turned out great! They taste, look, and feel just like store-bought marshmallows. Maybe a little better

I have to be honest though, my first attempt at homemade marshmallows was nothing short of a “sticky, messy, disaster”. But I blame the recipe – lesson learned: Just because a blog looks cute and credible, does not mean it is. People can post anything they want, even if it a fake recipe! So be careful…Anyways, I was so determined to prove my marshmallows nay-sayers wrong that I searched for a new recipe and tried again. The second recipe was much more consistent and had far more reviews and success stories. The second time around was a piece of cake – my marshmallows were a success!

I used the following recipe to make the marshmallows. I then dipped them in melted semi-sweet baker’s chocolate. I topped some with sprinkles, and some with crushed up Nilla Wafers……I seriously could not stop eating them!! They were so good!My family and friends enjoyed them too. The best part is, with the right recipe, these little guys were relatively easy, not to mention how impressive it is to “make your own marshmallows”!

Ready for dipping...

Gooey Goodness!

Enjoy the recipe – and take note of my suggestions within the recipe! Til next time, stay sweet! Xoxo

Homemade Marshmallows

.75-oz unflavored gelatin (3 envelopes of Knox gelatin)
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Spray a 9 x 9-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray – coat the pan with powdered sugar. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for about 10 minutes. (Don’t touch the gelatin, resist the urge to stir it into the water – let it soak for the FULL 10 minutes! Trust me )

 
Meanwhile, combine sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a rapid boil and boil hard for 1 minute. (Let boil for 7 minutes after it starts boiling)

 
Pour the boiling syrup into soaked gelatin and turn on the mixer, using the whisk attachment, to high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, add in the vanilla extract beat to incorporate. (Be patient, and beat for the full 12 minutes, this ensures your marshmallows  get nice and fluffy)

 
Scrape marshmallow into the prepared pan and spread evenly (Lightly greasing your hands and the spatula helps a lot here). Let mixture sit for a few hours, or overnight, until cooled and firmly set. (They turn out better if they have a whole night to set, but 2 hours will work in a crunch…only if you have to though!)

 
Remove marshmallow from pan and cut into equal pieces with scissors (the best tool for the job) or a chef’s knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in powder sugar.
Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 40 large marshmallows, depending on the size you choose to cut them.

This recipe was found on http://www.slashfood.com/2006/10/24/how-to-make-homemade-marshmallows/

It’s Friday, where’s my margarita??

Actually, It’s right here, in cupcake form of-course! A few weeks ago, I became very curious about what seems to be the new rage in cupcakes…cupcakes using adult beverages. I have seen such fun cupcake ideas based on well-known alcoholic beverages.

So here’s my take on the Margarita cupcake. There are so many recipes out there, none of which I completely liked, so I created my own. Enjoy this recipe, and have a great weekend! Cheers

Margarita Cupcakes

It's Happy Hour!

Enjoy a refreshing drink, in cupcake form!

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3 limes, zested and juiced
1.5 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners. (Which I think is pretty obvious, but I figured I’d say it anyway)

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

One at a time, add in the eggs. Mix well after each addition.

Add in the lime juice, lime zest and vanilla and beat well. Make sure your lime zest is small rather than large chunks – it will give the cupcake better texture.

Beat the flour mixture into the bowl. Do this in three additions, starting with the flour mixture and adding the buttermilk after the first and second flour additions.

Fill the cupcake liners about half-full with the batter (Again, obvious)

Bake 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cupcakes will not brown so don’t be alarmed if they still look white.

Cool in the pan for about 5 minutes.

Tequila Lime Buttercream

2 cups sugar
8 large egg whites
Pinch of sea salt (a pink is about ½ tsp.)
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tsp of vanilla
3 tbsp. tequila (maybe more depending on the kind of day you’ve had)

Combine sugar, egg whites and salt in a medium sauce pan and heat until it reaches 160 degrees F and the sugar has completely dissolved.

Transfer to a stand mixer and beat on medium-high until stiff peaks form and it has cooled to room temperature. This takes awhile – so don’t get discouraged, just practice patience…or have a drink of that tequila.

Add in the butter, two tablespoons at a time — mixing well after each addition.

The mixture may start to look curdled…just keep mixing it and, eventually, it will look like frosting.

Stir in the lime juice and tequila.

**Before piping the frosting onto the cupcakes, I make a mixture of half lime half tequila to brush on the top of my cupcakes – This gives it a more authentic margarita taste vs. a lime cupcake with a kick. Trust me, you’ll want to do this **

Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes

Decorate with a slice of fresh lime (or a candy lime) and green sprinkles.

I added straws to mine because I thought it looked cute – but it’s not necessary.

Enjoy!

Back-to-School Baking

I went to Walmart last night and watched as moms furiously grabbed back packs and colored pencils, and children cried and carried on over Miley Cyrus notebooks, and college students left with nothing but junk food and beer….I was honestly so glad that I was no longer “going back to school”! I was heading “back to school” a little less than a year ago, and I remember being so ready to graduate from college that I would have given a limb  in order to forgo sitting through another classroom lecture.

With all the school spirit in the air however, I decided to dedicate this post to all of those who are going back to the classroom for another year, another semester, whatever. I also dedicate this to the moms that have to get their children ready for school – you’re patience when picking out school supplies and school clothes amazes me.

A friend of mine (http://happylifehappywife.wordpress.com/) sent me this recipe last week, and it’s the perfect back to school treat. Caramel Apple Cupcakes. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes - Recipe from http://justjennrecipes.com/caramel-apple-cupcakes/2008/10/22/

Visit JustJennRecipes.com for more fun recipes!

Apple cupcakes ingredients:
(frosting to follow)

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup applesauce
1 cup shredded or finely chopped, Granny Smith apples

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prep a cupcake pan with liners.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In a mixer, stir the eggs, butter, and applesauce. Mix until combined. Carefully add the dry ingredients.

Now chop the apples. Peel and slice the apple. Then using a grater, grate the apple into fine shreds, like cheese. You can also chop it finely which works just as well. Now stir the shredded apples into the batter mixture.

Bake for 15-20 mins, 17 works best for me.

Caramel Frosting ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1tsp cinnamon
1 TB maple syrup

In a saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar. Give it a stir now and again. When they are melted and bubbly, add the milk. Carefully raise the heat and bring the mixture to a quick boil. Careful – you don’t want to burn it. Once it foams up and turns that lovely caramel color, take it off the heat immediately.

Remove pan from heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla, cinnamon and syrup, mixing until frosting is smooth. I like to put it in the fridge for about 20 mins to cool down. Then I simply frost the cupcakes by dipping them into the frosting. It’s more of a glaze – in the sense that it will firm up.

Now the fun part – you can roll the sides in sprinkles and of course, for effect, put in a popsicle stick to make it look like a real caramel apple.

Peanut-Butter Banana Muffins

Peanut-Butter Banana Goodness!

Very rarely do I bake something and the end product looks like the picture on the recipe. This recipe however was so easy, that my muffins look just as good as the ones in the recipe picture. Better yet, they taste fabulous!!

Once again, I found myself with over-ripe bananas and some free time – so what better thing to do than bake! The muffin is so moist and has the perfect balance of peanut-butter to banana. I might even add some chocolate chips to the batter next time.

Hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I’m enjoying this muffin right now!!

Peanut-Butter Banana Muffins

Recipe from http://lululuathome.com/2009/07/peanut-butter-banana-muffins.html

Ingredients (12 regular-sized muffins):

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter, soften
1/4 cup peanut butter, soften (I used chunky one as I love the texture)

2 eggs

3 large bananas, mashed

1 banana, sliced for garnish

Directions:

Preheat over to 350F. Grease muffin tin or line with muffin liners.In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in peanut butter. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Then mix in mashed banana.

With the mixer on low speed, beat in the flour mixture until just combined.

Evenly distribute batter into the muffin cups. Top with sliced banana. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.

 Cool completely on a wire rack.

Ice Cream Cupcakes!

Picture by PieceofCake.com - Icecream Cupcakes!

Combine Ice cream, flour, and a few other essential cupcake ingredients, and you have an ICE-CREAM cupcake! Honestly, what more could a girl ask for?? The recipe is so simple yet the idea is so novel that everyone will think you spent hours creating these little masterpieces….that is if you can actually get them out of your house before eating them all! When I came across this great idea, I knew I had to share it!

The recipe comes from one of my favorite blogs, Piece of Cake (http://pieceofcakeblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/ice-cream-muffins.html)

Ice Cream Cupcakes

The better quality ice cream you choose, the better your results here. Note that this recipe calls for self-rising flour–it will not work with any other flour. I imagine other flavors of ice cream can be substituted. These can have a crazy rise, so keep the muffin cups only about 1/2 full of batter.

Makes 12

2 cups premium vanilla ice cream, very soft
2 cups self-rising flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the ice cream and flour until smooth. Beat in the egg, oil and vanilla until well-blended. Divide the batter equally among the muffin tins, each about 1/2 full. Bake until the muffins are risen, lightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

PieceofCake.com did not give a recipe or any ideas for the frosting, but I would suggest the following:

• Strawberry Buttercream (http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=589734)
• A dollop of CoolWhip – Sprinkled with chocolate jimmies, of course!
• Chocolate Mousse (http://fontgirl.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/chocolate-mousse/)

 

Enjoy the recipe! And come back later for a Back to School recipe for Caramel Apple Cupcakes!

Till next time, stay sweet. xoxo

Butternut Squash Cupcakes

Picture submitted by Adrienne and Sara - Winners of the wacky cupcake contenst!

Congrats to Adrienne and Sara who teamed up to make the winning wacky cupcake!

The duo made “Butternut Squash Cupcakes with Sage Cream-cheese Frosting” A strange bunch of ingredients for a cupcake, but the reviews said this cupcake tasted just like carrot cake. YUM!

Not only did Adrienne and Sara search out a wacky and inventive recipe, they baked them and sent in pictures! Great job Sara and Adrienne, your recipe is wacky but sounds pretty darn good.

Enjoy the recipe below from VanillaGarlic.com ( http://www.vanillagarlic.com/2006/10/butternut-squash-cupcakes-with-sage.html)

Butternut Squash Cupcakes
Makes about 24 cupcakes
(Adapted from MarthaStewart.com)

These cupcakes make me think of Fall - they would make a great lunch box treat for those heading back to school!

What You’ll Need…
1 large butternut squash (for 2 cups of puree)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups of flour

What You’ll Do…
1) Quarter and seed the squash. Place in a dish with 1/4 cup of water and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool, scoop out (no skins!) then puree in a food processor or blender.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, eggs, and butter. Add dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Whisk in butternut puree.

4) Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake at 350 until tops spring back when touched, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-22 minutes. Rotate pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool.

Sage Cream Cheese Frosting
(This makes a lot; freeze the rest and use it for bagels or fruit. Throw in the fridge to thaw when ready for use.)

What You’ll Need…
1 bunch of sage
3 tablespoons of water
3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
12 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 cup of butter
3 cups powdered sugar

What You’ll Do…
1. Bring cheese and butter to room temperature.

2. Heat sugar and water in a small pan under medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

3. Chop up the sage and add to the sugar and let boil over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until the mixture is syrupy. Set aside to cool.

4. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment.

5. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy.

6. Add half of the sugar and the sage syrup. Beat until combined.

7. Gradually add remaining sugar. Spread onto cupcakes and sprinkle on allspice if desired.

Mini Coconut Lime Cupcakes

This wonderful recipe landed in my inbox and absolutely made my day  today! If I didn’t already have plans tonight, I would head home after work and bake these immediatly! Tomorrow is Saturday though, so you can bet I will be baking up these little lime goodies! Enjoy the recipe – let me know how they turn out

Coconut Lime Cupcake – Mini Version!

Makes approx 48 mini’s and one dozen (12) regular size cupcakes

Cupcakes:

 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

 2 cups sugar

Zest of one lime

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

 1 ½ tps baking soda

 1 ½ tsp salt

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla

¾ cup milk

The juice of one lime

¾ cup Toasted Coconut + 2 cups for garnish

 Lime mini wedges

Green food coloring

1. Preheat oven to BROIL. 
2. Line cupcake pans with liners.
3. On an ungreased cookie sheet, lay coconut spread out on sheet.  Put in the oven and broil until about 1/5 of the coconut has browned.  Move around the coconut after 30 seconds to get more even browning. Watch carefully and DO NOT OVER TOAST!!!!! It should only take a minute or two. Set aside to cool.
4. Turn oven down to 300 degrees.
5. Measure sugar into a medium bowl.
6. Prepare the sugar by working the lime zest into sugar by pressing the back of a spatula down into sugar, thus releasing the oils from the zest into the sugar.  This process should take about five minutes, and the sugar will become very fragrant.  
7. Cream the butter for 2-3 minutes using electric mixer and the paddle attachment.  Add the sugar to the butter mixture and continue creaming until fluffy.
8. While butter/sugar are creaming, in another bowl sift together flour, salt baking soda and baking powder and set aside. Sift at least twice to ensure all ingredients are combined.
9. Add eggs one at a time to butter and sugar, mixing thoroughly after each egg.
10. In a measuring cup that pours, mix together the milk, lime juice and vanilla. 
11. SLOWLY alternate adding the flour and milk mixture to the butter/sugar.  Begin and end with the flour and make sure to mix very well after each addition. Do not over mix.
12. Fold in the toasted coconut.
13. Add 6-10 drops of green food coloring and fold in until you get the desired green color you want.
14. Fill liners 1/2 full with batter.  DO NOT OVER FILL!!!
15. For Minis: Bake for 8 minutes and rotate pan 180 degrees in oven. Bake another 2-3 minutes.
16. For Regular: Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes and rotate pan 180 degrees in oven.  Bake another 3-5 minutes.
17. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to completely cool.

Lime Buttercream:  

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

 2 lbs (approx 6 cups) powdered sugar

 1/4 -1/2 cup milk

 Zest of a lime

 Juice of a lime

1 tbsp light corn syrup

Mini lime wedges 

1. In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter.
2. One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar.  Between each cup, add a splash of milk.   Mix until smooth & scrape down the sides after each addition
3. Before the last cup of sugar, add the zest and juice of the lime.  Mix until smooth.
4. Add the corn syrup.
5. Add any remaining milk until you get the texture and consistency you want. 
6. Mix on high for 4-5 minutes.

To Assemble:

1. Pipe a dollop of buttercream on the cupcake.
2. Dunk the cupcake upside down in the toasted coconut.
3. Top with a small lime wedge. 

This recipe was created by Betsy Eves, author  of the blog JavaCupcake.com! Thanks Betsy for the fantastic recipe!!