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You absolutely CANNOT celebrate Cinco De Mayo without the Margarita! And what better way to enjoy the fresh lime and tequilla combo, than in a cupcake version!
Enjoy mi amigos!! xoxo
Margarita Cupcakes
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.
Tequilla 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!
Tags: alchohol, baking with tequilla, cake, cinco de mayo, cinco de mayo cupcakes, cupcakes, food, frosting, green, holiday cupcakes, holiday treats, lime, lime cupcakes, margarita cupcakes, margarita upcakes, mexican cupcakes, recipes, vanilla
Stay Calm, Have A Cupcake! 