Strawberry Margarita Surprise Cupcakes

To make the cupcakes:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line the muffin tins with paper cupcake liners (the recipe makes 18).

2. In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time until incorporated, then add the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and tequila and mix until fully combined.

3. Sift the cake flour, baking soda, and salt together and stir into the batter until just combined.

4. In a separate bowl, toss the strawberries with the flour and lime zest. Add more flour if it’s not enough to coat the whole batch. Gently fold the strawberries into the batter.

5. Fill the cupcake liners with the batter, leaving about 1/2 inch from the top. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a cake tester (i.e. toothpick) comes out clean. Cool completely.

To make the lime curd:

In a small saucepan whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, lime juice, and butter and cook over moderately low heat. Taste the mixture (if you’re comfortable with the raw egg, which I know many people smarter than I are not) and add more sugar if it’s not sweet enough (I don’t like it too sweet). Stir constantly until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 to 7 minutes (that means when you run your finger along the mixture on the back of the spoon, it should leave a line rather than running back together). Be sure not to let it boil or sit long enough to curdle. Strain curd through a fine mesh strainer and set aside to cool.

To make the buttercream:

1. Set a small pot over medium heat. Add the strawberries, 1/2 cup of sugar, tequila, lime juice, lime zest, and salt and simmer gently until a thickened syrup forms, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool completely. Once cooled, you can either puree the mixture or leave it in chunks. I left mine chunky.

2. Set a bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Add the egg whites and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and whisk constantly over the heat until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is warm when you stick your finger in it (about 160 degrees).

3. Pour the egg mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until stiff peaks form (not too dry though). Test this by removing the whisk attachment, swirling it around the mixture, and pulling it straight up and turning it rightside-up to face you. If they are properly whipped up, a small droopy peak should stick up on the very tip of the whisk.

4. Switch to the paddle attachment on the stand mixer, and beat the butter into the egg mixture on a medium-low speed, a few tablespoons at a time. Make sure the butter is fully incorporated before adding the next batch. If mixture separates after all the butter is mixed in, beat at a medium-high speed for a few minutes until it comes back together. Add the vanilla, beating it at medium-low speed, then turn the speed all the way down to low and mix for a couple of minutes to remove any extra air.

5. Gently fold in the strawberry jam mixture with a rubber spatula and stir until the buttercream is smooth.

To assemble the cupcakes:

1. Using a pairing knife inserted at an angle, cut out a small cone-shaped chunk, about a 1 inch circle from the top of each cupcake. Fill the hole with the lime curd, about 1 teaspoon worth. You can either replace the chunk you removed, or eat it!

2. Fill a pastry bag (or Ziplock with the bottom corner cut off) with the frosting and go to town on your cupcakes. Or, you know, just use a spatula.