Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

Why not start off with a picture?

Don't you just love when you look at a recipe and think to yourself, "Piece of cake", and then, that recipe turns out to not be a piece of cake? Yeah...this was one of those.

So last night, I was speeding along through making the cakes for this. The only thing that took any amount of time was zesting the limes. A side note on that: I hate zesting citrus. Anyways, after they baked, some had come out not so great and flat, but most were great, and the recipe made 30 cupcakes (probably would've made 34), so I had some extras to spare. Well, first of all, after cooling for 10 minutes, half of them started separating from the cupcake liners, as if they were shrinking. Maybe it's the lime juice in the recipe...the 3 limes made quite a bit of juice and it made the cake super limey. I knew the frosting would have to be extra sweet and have a good hint of booze to cut through that lime.

So, today, I planned on whipping up the filling and frosting. I always read the comments on bloggers' recipes, and the comments on the filling was that it never got thick enough for anyone. I figured I'd give it a shot, and if it wasn't thick enough then I just wouldn't have filled cupcakes.

I didn't have filled cupcakes. The more I thought about it, there's no way that strawberries, 2 tablespoon of sugar, the juice of one lime and half a cup of tequila would puree into anything other than a liquid with strawberry seeds in it.

ANYWAYS, I then started on the frosting. That came out just fine by adding a little more puree than called for an extra tablespoon of tequila. I also brushed the tops of the cakes with tequila too. If I'm going to make boozy cupcakes, they're going to BOOZY cupcakes. I didn't go steal a water bottle full of tequila from my parents' liquor cabinet for nothing.

I also never bake cupcakes with anyone around. For two reasons. First, I can listen to whatever music I want without Dan complaining about how "weird" it is. Second, I make my kitchen look like someone set a toddler loose and said "Go bake, you tiny uncoordinated chef!". Seriously, This is how I bake...

Frosting tips everywhere

Pink sugar crystals

Strawberry tequila puree that you can see dripped on the counter

Stand mixer complete with powdered sugar dusting and surrounded by bowls and puree drips

Why I am such a messy cook I have no idea. Why did I go through the trouble of making these "piece of cake" cupcakes? For a birthday. Not just any birthday, my future sister -in-law's birthday, so they need to be some good cupcakes. I am not a sweets person, so whenever I bake anything, I barely eat it. I will always have a bite of a cupcake, because I won't serve anything to anyone unless I'm sure it's good. This cupcake...is....FANTASTIC. It's not overpowering with sugar, which is why I never eat baked goods. The cake, like I said, is super limey. And since the frosting has some fresh strawberries and tequila, it cuts through that sugar flavor. Usually, I like a standard buttercream frosting, because I just hate to use shortening. It just looks like a big can of spreadable calories to me. But, truth is, frosting that has some shortening in it, has a nice smooth texture that I like as opposed to just butter and powdered sugar. I actually ate the whole cupcake this time!

So here's to you Emily! Cheers!

Complete with pink sugared rim!

Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes
from The Baker Chick

For the cake:
3 cups flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
3 limes, zested and juiced
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

For the puree:
1 (8 oz) pkg. strawberries, tops cut off
2 tbsp. sugar
1 lime, zested and juiced
1/2 cup tequila of choice

For the frosting:
1 cup shortening
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly chilled
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp. tequila of choice
1/2 cup of strawberry tequila puree

*Pink sprinkles for a sugared rim (optional)

For the cakes:
1. Preheat oven to 325. Line 2 (or more) cupcake pans with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth, about 3-5 minutes, on medium-high speed.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides as needed. Then beat in the lime zest, lime juice, and vanilla.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mix in three increments, alternating with the buttermilk, so you end with the flour mix. Beat until just incorporated.
6. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

For the puree:
In a food processor, pulse together all ingredients. (Voila!)

For the frosting:
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the shortening and butter until smooth.
2. Add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, alternating with 1 tablespoon of the puree at a time. Add as much puree as you see fit to your taste. Add in the tequila and mix until everything is incorporated.

To assemble:
1. Brush cupcake tops with tequila.
2. Frost a ring around the cupcakes and dip into pink sugar or sprinkles. (see picture below)
3. Continue frosting in any way you like.
4. Eat!