Summer is almost here, can you feel it?! I can feel it all the way down to my bones and it makes me so happy! I am on a short break from school until summer classes start so I have been spending quite a bit of time on the beach and in my kitchen which are two of my favorite places. Last week a good friend came out from the midwest to visit my sister and I and it just so happened to be her birthday, and one of her favorite things is key lime pie so I started the hunt. I’ve made key lime pie before, but I think everyone needs cake on their birthday so I knew it was the direction I wanted to go, and I am so glad I did!
Now when it comes to any type of cake or pie, I am a chocolate over citrus/fruit person all day. Furthermore, I’d take dark chocolate over white every time, so you wouldn’t expect this to be my kind of dessert… but man, these are awesome! The white chocolate icing is insanely good, it’s not too sweet and it’s a perfect complement to the lime cake. And the cake, it’s on point. It’s just dense enough without being heavy, and it’s not overwhelmingly limey which I was worried about. These were perfect, they were just what I hoped they would be and they were the quintessential summer dessert, and that’s a pretty bold review from this dark chocolate lover.
Key Lime Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting (Print Me)
Yield: 18 cupcakes
Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
¾ cups butter (softened)
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
4 Tablespoons key lime zest
3 eggs
¼ cup key lime juice
3 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ cup buttermilk
Frosting:
⅔ cup good quality white chocolate, chopped
⅓ cup whipping cream
½ cup butter (softened)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
Directions:
Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350º F. Line muffin cups with paper liners and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, and lime zest until light and fluffy. Add eggs and lime juice and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mix well, then add ½ the buttermilk and mix well. Continue to add in alternating portions until all buttermilk and flour is added and just combined.
Spoon prepared pans, filling until almost full (they won’t rise too much). Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes in muffin pans before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
Combine white chocolate and whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 second intervals, stirring to combine in between. You will need to repeat this 3-4 times, or until the cream-chocolate mixture is completely combined and smooth. Allow to cool completely.
In a medium bowl, beat together cream-chocolate mixture with butter and vanilla until completely mixed. Add powdered sugar slowly, until frosting is light and fluffy. Frost cupcakes when they are completely cooled.
Source: Sweet Peas & Saffron
