Margarita cupcakes for Cinco de Mayo

If you’re looking to finish off a homemade Mexican meal with a sweet treat, there’s a couple of different ways to go.

Of course, there are always traditional Mexican desserts, such as flan or fried ice cream. Or you could try a funkier dessert with a kick, such as a margarita cupcake.

With a few recipe modifications these cupcakes can please many palates — those looking for a sweet-meets-salty taste, fans of citrus fruit or anyone who is fond of boozy desserts.

The margarita cupcake starts with a lime flavor. Some recipes call for a box of white or yellow cake mix to start, but I favored a recipe that began with a basic white cake recipe and added the zest and juice from a few limes.

After the cakes are warm and fresh out of the oven, it’s time to make the first major decision — to add tequila or not?

Of course, if you want a true margarita flavor, tequila is a must. To get the flavor in the cakes themselves, spoon a half a teaspoon of the alcohol over each cupcake. Adding a little bit to the frosting also will help balance out the sweetness.

Minus the tequila, however, margarita cupcakes can be a kid-friendly treat, too, or a treat for those who just don’t want liquor in their desserts. The cupcakes will seem more like a simple citrus cake.

The next major decision comes in the form of frosting. Different baking blogs have various suggestions — some call for a whipped frosting, with tequila and lime flavorings; others suggest a tequila butter cream frosting.

I went with a simple butter cream. Instead of just pairing tequila and lime flavorings, I actually used a few tablespoons of a margarita mix — the kind that comes with the tequila already in the drink. To accentuate the flavors, I added a few squeezes of fresh lime juice and just a hint of extra tequila.

If you want to stay clear of the booze, the recipe is easily modified by adding some margarita mix sans alcohol. A simple whipped lime frosting would pair well, too.

Although I try to avoid using too many artificial ingredients, I did add a few drops of green food dye to the frosting. The white frosting can be a classic look and nicely accented with some lime zest. Instead, however, I wanted the frosting to resemble the same color and texture of a frozen drink.

Once you’ve baked and frosted the cakes, decide whether to add salt to the mix.

I placed some pearlized sprinkles around the edge of the cupcake tops to simulate a salted rim, but it didn’t look quite right. On another cake, I sprinkled white sugar sprinkles, which were a closer match but still were a bit hard to see against the frosting.

Finally, I tried adding sea salt. The salt blended in with the cupcake and wasn’t very visible. But when I sampled the cupcake, the flavor combination was a fantastic mix that made the treats taste more like an actual margarita.

MARGARITA CUPCAKES

For the Lime Cupcakes:

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

3 limes, zested and juiced

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup tequila

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare muffin tins with paper liners or baking spray. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside. Cream butter and sugar on a mixer’s high setting until pale, light, and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly before adding the next one. Add lime zest and lime juice. Turn mixer to low setting. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches. Mix only until just incorporated. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer shows only moist crumbs attached, rotating the pans at the halfway point. Allow cupcakes to cool completely in the pans before removing. While the cupcakes are still warm, brush the tops with tequila.

—Recipe from Confections of a Foodie Bride

For the Margarita Butter Cream Frosting:

3 to 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cup butter

2 1/2 tablespoons margarita mix

Sea salt or rock salt (optional)

Combine all ingredients until spreading consistency. Spread on cupcakes with a piping sleeve or knife and sprinkle with salt.

baking with Bill & Sheila

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