Here is one last Cinco de Mayo themed recipe for the week! I have been dying to make Margarita cupcakes for ages and have been waiting for this holiday to do it! I wanted to put my own twist on the many margarita cupcake recipes on the blogosphere. To do that, I decided to go for a Strawberry Margarita Cupcake which consists of a tangy lime cake, strawberry-tequila filling, and a strawberry-lime tequila butter cream. Finish it off with a “salted” rim and it’s just like the real thing!
I am very happy with how these turned out. I wouldn’t have minded a stronger tequila flavor, but I don’t think this is so easy to do. My experience with tequila is that it evaporates and loses it’s flavor pretty quickly, which means that serving these right after making and filling them would be a good idea. The one I tasted right after making them had the perfect amount of tequila, but it wasn’t as pronounced a few hours later. (Feel free to leave it out all-together for “Virgin Margarita” cupcakes.)
Notes: 1- For the “salted rim” I sprinkled on some coarse sugar with a spoon right after frosting. 2- If you have a different butter cream recipe you prefer, feel free to use that and just mix in about 5 tablespoons of the strawberry puree. 3- The picture below of the filling was taken right after I filled and frosted the cupcakes. If the cupcakes sit for a couple hours, the filling will absorb into the cake and won’t ooze out like mine did. I tried them both ways and they are equally great! :)
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 limes, zested and juiced
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Strawberry Tequila Puree:
- 1- 8 oz container of strawberries
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- 1/2 cup of tequila
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- Frosting:
- 1 cup organic non-hydrogenated shortening
- 2 sticks un-salted butter slightly chilled
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup strawberry tequila puree
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325? F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir with a fork to blend.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.
- Blend in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the lime zest, lime juice and vanilla.
- With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat each addition just until incorporated.
- Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ full. Bake 20-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
- In a bowl of a food processor, add the strawberries, lime juice, tequila and sugar. Puree the mixture until there are no chunks of strawberry. Set aside.
- Using a small paring knife, cut a cone out of the top of each cupcake. Remove the cut-out cake and spoon a tablespoon of strawberry puree into each cupcake. Replace the top part of the cone, cutting the tip to leave room for the filling.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and butter on high until well mixed and fluffy. add the powdered sugar one cup at a time alternating with a tablespoon at a time of the Strawberry puree. Mix until the frosting is thick and creamy. Spread or pipe on cupcakes. Use a spoon to sprinkle some coarse sugar around the edge of the cupcake and top with a lime wedge. Enjoy!
Cake recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats via Martha Stewart.
Frosting/Filling- Baker Chick original :)
I also had this same problem. I put all ingredients in a food processor and pulsed until no strawberries remained. My mixture was completely runny. I even added corn starch and nothing happened. I guess I don’t understand how so many wet ingredients would gel without being cooked???? Am I missing something?
I had the same issue, tried the cornstarch with the same result, so i decided to try to heat it up in a pot for a while. Worked great to thicken it up!
Thanks for letting me know- I’ll adjust the recipe :)
Hmm- sometimes certain strawberries have a higher water content than others. Maybe try mixing in a little corn starch to thicken it?
You can jut omit it :)
in the process of making these now…the “puree” part turned out like more of a smoothie…strawberries, sugar, lime juice, tequila…what went wrong?! it definitely doesnt look like the gel-like filling you see in the pic…
I’m planning to make these and omit the tequila due to the “audience”. Do I need to add equal amount water or other liquid, or can i just omit it? Thanks!
So…where are the OTHER cinco de mayo recipes? I can’t eat only cupcakes….
Hey Rachel! If you’re making a cake, I’d suggest maybe using the strawberry layer as a filling and doing two layers? Or just making it a margarita cake. Lime Cake, Tequila syrup/soak on the top and then Lime/Tequila frosting. Good luck and Happy Birthday!
I’m thinking about making these for my birthday. I wonder how it would turn out as a cake tho.
No you can use regular shortening too! I just prefer the Organic kind. :)
does the shortening need to be organic non-hydrogenated?
You have been awarded the One Lovely Blog Award! Congratulations! I have featured you here: http://cookincowgirl.blogspot.com/2011/05/one-lovely-blog-award.html
Oh my goodness! How pretty these cupcakes are! Irresistible!
These cupcakes are sooooo cute! I love how you sprinkled coarse sugar on the frosting for a salted rim. :)
These cupcakes are adorable! Can’t wait to try them. They look like would be the perfect pick me up on a rainy day.
Gotta love those boozey cupcakes! They look beautiful!
that looks like the most delicious thing to ever grace this earth.
Must. Have. Now.
So glad to see these on here! The first time I tried to find them they had disappeared! Glad you put them back on…and wow…they look and sound divine!
Very very pretty!
WOW… yum and yes, so festive!
http://www.birditobe.blogspot.com
These cupcakes look so festive. Love the contrast of the strawberry filling and the lime slices. Makes me feel like having a party right now!
These are super cute! I am going to make a margarita cake for a get together tomorrow night! Hope it tastes as good as these look!
oo wow!! I love the “sugar rim”. Cute touch!