Blank stare from me. "Uh, do you really need a reason to make cupcakes?"
In my opinion, no, you do not need any special reason to make cupcakes. You make them cause they're CUPCAKES, for heaven's sake and just about everything seems a little better when there are cupcakes involved! That being said, it actually is a special occasion--the day before St. Patty's Day, and my mother-in-law and brother-in-law are bringing over corned beef and cabbage for dinner. While I greatly appreciate the sentiment, I'm not really a big fan of corned beef or cabbage, so I figured I could at least contribute some dessert and in doing so, assure myself that I will not go hungry for lack of tasty offerings at tonight's dinner table.
Normally, mint is my go-to flavor for St. Patty's Day, but I already made mint chocolate chip cookies and creme de menthe brownies this month, so I decided to look for something else that was green and sweet. You wouldn't think that would be that hard with all the green foods there are out there, but surprisingly most green things are vegetables, and broccoli cupcakes with spinach sprinkles just didn't sound too appetizing. These Key Lime Cupcakes, however, were a perfect find. What luck. = )
The original recipe included a cream cheese frosting, but I prefer buttercream, so I found a different frosting recipe that is divinely lime-y. I've included this recipe, but you can click on the link for the original if you want the cream cheese frosting recipe.
link to original recipe
Prep time: 30 min Bake time: 20 min
Serves 20
1 ¾ cups cake flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 stick cool, unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs (room temperature)
2 ½ Tbs key lime juice
1 Tbs key lime zest
1 drop green food coloring paste
¾ cup buttermilk (room temperature)
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
Sift the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt three times, set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low until it’s softened a bit. Add the sugar and increase the speed to medium. Beat until fluffy, about four minutes. Add one egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lime juice, zest, and food coloring and beat until mixed. (The mixture will look curdled.)
Add the flour in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Mix on low until just combined. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full.
Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool completely and frost.
Key Lime Buttercream Frosting
link to original recipe
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 tsp Key lime zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 (16-oz) package powdered sugar
- 3 Tbs Key lime juice
- 1 to 2 Tbs milk
