INGREDIENTS:
For the Cupcakes:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- Zest and juice of 1½ limes
- 2 tablespoons tequila
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk
To Brush the Cupcakes:
- 1 to 2 tablespoons tequila
For the Tequila-Lime Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2¾ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons tequila
- Pinch of coarse salt
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
- Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at at time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract and tequila. Mix until combined. (The mixture may start to look curdled at this point, but don't worry, it will all come back together, power on!)
- Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches. Mix only until just incorporated, using a rubber spatula to give it one last mix by hand.
- Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until just slightly golden and a skewer shows only moist crumbs attached, rotating the pan at the halfway point.
- Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. Brush the tops of the cupcakes with the 1 to 2 tablespoons of tequila. Set the cupcakes aside to cool completely before frosting them. Brush the tops with tequila and cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, whip the butter on medium-high speed of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated. Give it a mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the lime juice, tequila, and salt mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and fluffy. If the frosting appears a bit too soft, add some additional sugar, one spoonful at a time until desired consistency is reached. Frost cupcakes and garnish, if desired, with lime zest, an additional sprinkling of salt, and a lime wedge.
- If frosting is too soft add some additional sugar.
*Note #1: If you would prefer to not use liquor in these cupcakes, you can absolutely omit it from both the cupcakes and the frosting with no problem. If you do omit it, I would add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract to the frosting.
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