Margarita Cupcakes

Stolen from Confections of a Foodie Bride

I've actually made these and I love them!! I did go a tiny bit overboard with the amount of lime I put in the frosting and the frosting ended up being a little more than I could handle, but it was all my fault for not following the recipe, which for some reason I can never seem to do. In my defense I love lime and I always use more than the amount listed and usually it works of wonderfully, this just happens to be one of those recipes where no matter how much you love limes you shouldn't add extra.

Margarita Cupcakes

9 oz Margarita mix (such as Mrs. T’s or Bacardi)
3 oz tequila (Sauza Conmemorativo is a house-fave)
3/4 oz Grand Marnier
White cake mix (yes, the boxed stuff)
3 egg whites
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp lime zest
1 recipe Lime Buttercream Icing (recipe follows)

Mix together the margarita mix, tequila, and Grand Marnier in a large glass or spouted bowl. You will use 1 1/4 cup of this in the cupcake mix. Pour the remainder over ice and enjoy the mini-rita while you’re baking.

In a stand mixer, add the cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, lime zest, and 1 1/4 cup of the margarita mixture. Mix on low for about 30 seconds and then increase to medium speed for two minutes (the batter will still be a bit lumpy).

Spoon the batter into a prepared muffin pan (fill the cups somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 full) and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick registers “done” in the center cupcake. Remove the pan from the oven and cool 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool completely on a baking rack.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, make the icing and ice the cupcakes.

Lime Buttercream Icing
3 cups + 3 Tbsp confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
green food color (a small amount of the gel will not throw off the consistency of the icing)

Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, and lime juice to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the icing is fluffy. Add the icing to a pastry bag fitted with a 2D tip and ice the cupcakes.

Add the sugar and a couple drops of the food coloring to a food processor. Process until the sugar turns green. Spread the sugar onto a plate and let dry for 15 minutes. Sprinkle onto freshly-iced cupcakes and enjoy!