Key Lime Cupcakes

By Fongolicious - October 07, 2012

Cupcake day again! For those who aren't aware of what cupcake day is, it's a fundraiser for the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). For me its another excuse to bake. Here are a couple of snaps I took of the different cupcakes on sale.

My parents had a surplus of limes from the garden's tree. Which made picking what flavour easy! Key Lime! Most Key lime recipes call for "key limes". A breed of limes commercially grown in the Florida Keys. I just used ordinary limes. What makes this "key lime" though, is the combination with sweetened condense milk and coconut that is signature to "Key Lime Pie". I adapted this recipe from a recipe I found from the Food Network.

The frosting I adapted from my trusted ol' white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Recipe here.

Ingredients
For the cupcakes
175g butter, room temperature
3/4 cups caster sugar
zest of 2 limes
2 eggs at room temperature
3 tbpsn lime juice
1 1/2 tspns pure vanilla extract
1/2 tspn coconut essence
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon bicarb soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/3 cups shredded coconut (can reduce or add, depending on batter's moisture level)
3 tbpsn sweetened condense milk

For frosting
250g cream cheese, room temperature
125g butter, room temperature
100g white chocolate
1 tspn vanilla extract
Juice from 1 lime, (less or more depending how lime-y you want it to be)
2 cups icing sugar, sifted (less or more depending how sweet you want it to be)

For garnish
3 tspn shredded coconut (heaped)
1/2 tpsn green food colouring (yellow and blue)

Method
For cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 160C.
2. In a large bowl and mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add eggs, 1 at a time. Scrape down bowl after each addition. Add vanilla, coconut essence and lime zest and juice. Mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, bicarb soda.
4. Alternating mix until just combined: a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then half the buttermilk, then another third of the flour mixture, then the rest of the buttermilk, then finish off with the remaining third of the flour mixture.
5. Fold in condense milk and shredded coconut.
6. Line a muffin pan with patty pan (paper lining). Fill each cavity almost to the top with batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops begin to brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Remove cupcakes from oven, sit for about 5 minutes in the pan then remove from pan and allow to cool completely on wire rack.

Garnish
1. Place coconut in a cup, add colouring and mix with a teaspoon until consistent colour.

For frosting
1. Melt white chocolate and allow to cool. Read my chocolate melting tips.
2. Using a mixer beat together cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla, white chocolate and lime juice. Mix well. Mix in icing sugar in batches. Taste as you go to ensure you got the right sweetness.
3. Frosting cupcakes and garnish with coloured coconut.