Now, I’m not the biggest margarita fan (gasp!) unless it’s fruity flavored (i.e. peach, strawberry, mango.. mmmm, you get the idea), however I have had this recipe bookmarked for quite some time. We had a little Halloween shindig last weekend, hence the spider cupcake liners, and I wanted to make some booze infused cupcakes, so my friend requested these. I hesitated at first and thumbed through a dozen or so other possibilities then came back to this. I was pleasantly surprised with how yummy these were and they definitely went over very well. They were really easy to make (score!) and weren’t overly tequila flavored. I will for sure be making these again the next time I need a fun quick dessert to take to a party. I also ventured into the mini world when I made these, I had kind of avoided them because I thought they would be more of a pain icing but it wasn’t too bad. The minis are great because some people don’t want a whole huge cupcake (these people, are NOT me), so it gives everyone the opportunity to still enjoy them. Hope ya’ll had a great Halloween! Enjoy!

Margarita Cupcakes   (Print Me)

Yield: 12 cupcakes or 36ish minis

Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
Zest and juice of 1½ limes
2 Tbsp tequila
¼ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk

To Brush the Cupcakes:
1-2 Tbsp tequila

For the Tequila-Lime Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2¾ cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp tequila
Pinch of coarse salt

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 325º. Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed or in a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy and pale in color (about 5 minutes). Reduce the 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 mixing until combined (the mixture may start to look curdled at this point, but it will all come back together). Reduce the mixer speed low and add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches. Mix just to incorporate. Use a rubber spatula to give it one last mix by hand.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes, rotating the pan at the halfway point, for approximately 25 minutes (or around 13 for minis). The tops should be just slightly golden and a skewer will show only moist crumbs attached. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then brush the tops of the cupcakes lightly with tequila. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. It is very important to brush the cupcakes while they are warm so the cake properly absorbs the liquid.

Meanwhile, start the frosting by whipping the butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, and gradually add the powdered sugar (a few tablespoons at a time), mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated.  Increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 30 seconds. Add the lime juice, tequila until incorporated and fluffy. If the frosting appears a bit too soft, add some additional sugar, one spoonful at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Frost cupcakes and lightly sprinkle with course salt, garnish with lime zest or a wedge if desired.

Source: The Brown Eyed Baker