Key Lime Cupcakes!!!

Brandon and I recently became big fans of the show Cupcake Wars. We DVR it every Sunday night and watch it some time the following week. If you haven't seen it and enjoy baking, you should give it a try! Cupcake Wars, which showcases some pretty awesome and out-of-the-ordinary desserts, combined with my recent cake decorating classes has flamed a new fire in my life...baking. I've always been a big fan (jokes are welcomed here) of consuming baked goods, but now I equally enjoy creating them. It's a fun new challenge in my life. And for those of you who haven't figured it out by now, I dig all sorts of challenges...I'm a true competitor at heart!

So when I ran across this amazing recipe for Key Lime Cupcakes on Pinterest (Don't 'cha just love Pinterest)? I just had to try them out. Turns out they were amazingly delicious! I made a few changes as I strolled through the recipe, but honestly these cupcakes are fab! Bake up a batch and let me know what you think.

Here's the recipe borrowed from My Madison Bistro:

Key Lime Cupcakes

adapted from Bon Appetit, Sept 2008

1 3/4 cups cake flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) cool unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs (room temperature)

2 ½ tablespoons key lime juice

1 tablespoon key lime zest

1 drop green food coloring paste

¾ cup buttermilk (room temperature)
Icing:
1 stick cool unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature), cut into 8 pieces
2 ¼ cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon key lime zest
Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
Sift the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt three times, set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low until it’s softened a bit. Add the sugar and increase the speed to medium. Beat until fluffy, about four minutes. Add one egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lime juice, zest, and food coloring and beat until mixed. (The mixture will look curdled.)
Add the flour in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Mix on low until just combined. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full.
Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool completely and frost with cream cheese icing.
Makes 12-14 cupcakes.
Icing:
Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low until it’s softened a bit. Increase speed to medium and add the cream cheese one piece at a time. Reduce speed to low and slowly add powdered sugar until combined. Beat in zest.


The icing was certainly not able to be piped, but I have googled, and there are cream cheese icing recipes out there that are thicker and able to be piped. Will probably try that route next time...just to see how it turns out! Hope you love them...I know we did!