Margarita Cupcakes for Mother's day

The champagne we had complements of mum and Bobby

Just iced

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I had planned for my mum, her husband Bobby, my sister and her partner Todd as well as the kids to come over for drinks and nibbles which eventually turned into me making lunch instead. In the latest Donna Hay magazine there were some recipes around American diner food and as Bobby is American I thought I would head in that direction for lunch. As well as that I wanted to have food that could be prepared in advance so I didn't have to be in the kitchen for too long. The menu ended up being...Slow Cooked Pork Chilli (delicious), Mac'N'Cheese (quintessential American comfort food according to my American friend Luanne), Cheese and Chilli Cornbread, Sundaes with Butterscotch Sauce and Toffee Peanuts (homemade except for the ice cream), Maragrita Cupcakes and Russian Fudge. I also made some homemade salsa to have with corn chips to nibble on. 

The children's ones without the tequila in...also with no lime zest on top so I didn' get them mixed up

My family has a BIG thing for margarita's. It is our cocktail of choice and many a happy time has been spent enjoying a frozen margarita of various flavours on a hot sunny day. No we are not all drunks but when it comes to a good margarita...well....! If you want a good recipe for a stunning frozen Margarita look here (you will find it at the bottom of the post). BUT be warned that once you start making these it could well become a habit! 


Anyway when I was looking at one of the many blogs I follow I came across a recipe for these margarita cupcakes and I just knew I had to make them. She described them as being very limey and boozy. Maybe I have a tolerance to tequila because I thought they were not overly boozy at all. The flavour of these cupcakes though is heavenly. They were very delicious with all the flavours combining so well to make a margarita flavour albeit in cupcake form. I thought they looked really pretty too as they were so pale and fresh-looking especially with the lime zest on top. Some of the photos above look different as I photographed them in different lights (while I remembered to take a picture of them). These are definitely a make-again.


Margarita Cupcakes


Cupcakes


1½ c flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
115g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
Zest and juice of 2 limes
2 Tbsp tequila
¼ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk


To Brush the Cupcakes

1 to 2 tablespoons tequila

Tequila-Lime Frosting

225g butter, at room temperature
2¾ c icing sugar
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp tequila
Pinch of coarse salt

Preheat the oven to 160 C. Line a muffin tin with paper liners (I got 18 from this recipe)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Cream the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at at time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

Add the lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract and tequila and mix until combined. (The mixture may start to look curdled at this point, but don’t worry, it will all come back together).

Reduce the mixer speed low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches. Mix only until just incorporated, using a rubber spatula to give it one last mix by hand.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes or until cooked.

Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 mins, and then remove to a cooling rack. Brush the tops of the cupcakes with the 1 to 2 tablespoons of tequila.

To make the frosting, whip the butter on medium-high speed of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated. Give it a mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice, tequila and salt mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and fluffy. If the frosting appears a bit too soft, add some additional sugar, one spoonful at a time until desired consistency is reached. Frost cupcakes and garnish, if desired, with lime zest, an additional sprinkling of salt and a lime wedge.