Margarita Cupcakes

Margaritas are not my favorite drinks, although I can tolerate them — especially raspberry ones. Let’s just say that Jose is not always a good friend to me. However, I do love lime. I also love Cinco de Mayo, and baking things with a theme. So this year, I decided to bake Margarita-flavored cupcakes in honor of the 5th of May.

I found the base for my recipe on the Hostess With the Mostess site, and modified it from there. I also switched the icing. Although I’m sure the cream cheese icing would be delicious, I happened to have a full fridge and nowhere to store them overnight, so I went with a lime buttercream frosting, which came out great.

The recipe itself is extremely simple, you only need a few things for the cake: a white cake box mix plus the ingredients necessary to make it (i.e. oil and eggs): about 3 limes (more if you are using key limes); margarita mix (the liquid kind, not the frozen concentrated kind, I used Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix in Classic Lime); tequila; orange liquor (I used Triple Sec because my liquor store didn’t have Grand Marnier, and it still tasted great). And for the icing, the only extra ingredients are butter and confectioner’s sugar.

1. Combine all liquors and margarita mix into your mixing bowl and swirl it around to combine
2. Add the box cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil and the zest to the mixing bowl and combine with the liquor/margarita mix. Beat with a mixer until combined and smooth, about 1-2 minutes
3. Divide amongst 24 cupcake wells, filling about 2/3 full
4. Bake at 350F for about 18-20, until toothpick inserted in center is clean, and/or they spring back when touched
5. For the icing, beat 2 sticks of butter until light and fluffy.
6. Add the juice, zest, and margarita mix, and beat to combine
7. Add the powdered sugar gradually, until desired spreading consistency is reached
8. Frost when the cupcakes are completely cooled, and enjoy!

I didn’t put a thick layer of icing on, because my icing was delicious but potent. Anywhere from 1/4″ to 1/2″ is all you need, but taste test it first.

Now, I love lime, so my icing had a very strong lime flavor. However, you can always cut down on the lime juice, or omit the margarita mix altogether. If the cake is enough of a margarita-flavor for you, a basic buttercream icing with just the zest would work nicely.

I chose to roll the edges in colored sugar as a garnish, to resemble the salt around the rim of a margarita. If I had more time, I would have loved to garnish with candied lime peel or candied lime slices, but alas, the clock is always against me. Maybe next time…

I have to say, given that I’m not normally a margarita fan, I really enjoyed these cupcakes. The cake itself is super yummy, which is highly unusual for my tastebuds for anything containing tequila. They have a little tang, and they really do taste like margaritas as opposed to just lime cupcakes masquerading as margarita cupcakes. I also used someone who never drinks margaritas (because she hates tequila) as one of my taste testers, and even she really liked them. Having said that, these cupcakes do have a bit of a bite, I wouldn’t eat them too early in the day, they are definitely an after-lunch or after-dinner treat!