margarita cupcakes

margaritas are one of my favorite drinks.  it’s super refreshing and i love the citrus-y and fruity flavors of margaritas.  i mean come on the perfect weekend activity is totally getting some swirl margaritas from lauriol plaza (dc folks you know what i’m talking about ).

anyway so what does all this talk about margaritas have to do with cupcakes?  well the minute i found a recipe for cupcakes inspired by margaritas i knew i had to make them.  the only problem is they aren’t super work appropriate and i usually only make cupcakes for work.  but last week we had an after work  potluck and it was the perfect opportunity to make these liquored up cupcakes since we didn’t have to worry about meeting with students after having a bite of this tequila and lime goodness.  haha.

these margarita cupcakes are composed of a lime zest cupcake, brushed with tequila, frosted with a lime and tequila swiss meringue buttercream and decorated with a lime wedge.  the big thing here is to make sure that you use good tequila – since you’re not going to be cooking it off, you can really taste the tequila and you certainly don’t want to ruin your cupcakes with bad tequila.

let’s get started… first bake up the lime zest cupcakes.  i just used a box of white cake mix but also included about 2 tablespoons of lime zest in the batter.

let the cupcakes cool a little.  then pour about 2 tablespoons of tequila into a small bowl.  brush the cupcakes with the tequila – i brushed the cupcakes a few times over until all the tequila was used up.

then make your lime and tequila swiss meringue buttercream.  i used the base of the strawberry swiss meringue buttercream recipe but substituted a bit of lime juice and tequila for the strawberries.  frost the cupcakes as desired.  i used a closed star (2D) tip to frost my cupcakes.

finally decorate each cupcake with a small lime wedge.  all pau!

Margarita Cupcakes

inspired by Brown Eyed Baker with some help from Annie’s Eats

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 box white cake mix plus ingredients called for on the box
• 2 Tbsp. lime zest

To Brush the Cupcakes

• 2 Tbsp. tequila

Margarita Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 sticks (1½ cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 Tbsp. lime juice
• 4 Tbsp. tequila

Directions

1. Prepare and bake cupcakes as directly on the box, just make sure to also add the lime zest in the cake batter.
2. Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, and then remove to a cooling rack. Brush the tops of the cupcakes with 2 tablespoons of tequila.  Set the cupcakes aside to cool completely before frosting them.
3. To make the frosting, combine the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.
4. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.  (The bowl should be cool to the touch.)
5. Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated.  If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more (or longer – don’t worry, it will come together!)
6. Blend in the lime juice and tequila until smooth and completely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
7. Pipe frosting on to cupcakes as desired and garnish with a lime wedge.

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Posted by miki on June 6, 2012

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