Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

Everyone loves a beachy cocktail. Even in the dead of winter, sipping on a frozen, fruity drink will transport you to your the Caribbean, where you are relaxing by turquoise waters, warm sun on your cheeks, toes in the white sand, just waiting for your handsome cabana boy to come by and adjust your lounge chair. No? Just me? The point is, when I started to see recipes for margarita cupcakes popping up in various blogs and magazines, I knew I had to try them. Luckily, I had a housewarming party coming up, and the hostess loves margaritas. Excuse, found!

I spent nearly as long searching for the right recipe as I did actually making the cupcakes. Some didn’t call for any liquor {?!} and there were many that called for boxed cake mix with a few clever additions. When I do something, I like to do it right. That translates to no virgin cocktails {even in the cupcake form} and no short cuts.

When I came across The Baker Chick’s Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes post, knew I’d found The One. I loved the recipe, so I really didn’t do much to alter it.

I was short on time, so I decided to pipe in the filling instead of going through the painstaking process of cutting each cupcake. {If you’ve never done this, simply fill a pastry bag with the filling and using a long tip, insert the tip into the center of the cupcake, give it a squeeze, and voila! Cupcake filled.} Unfortunately, my smallest tip was too narrow, and the strawberry seeds kept clogging it up. When I switched to a tip with a wider opening, the filling poured out. {It is quite fluid…but the cupcake absorbs it quickly.} Plan C: I made a few small holes in the top of each cupcake with a straw, and used a teeny-tiny appetizer spoon to get a little filling into each one of them. It was enough to get a little flavor in there, but when I make these again I will take the time to cut the tops OR strain the filling to remove the strawberry seeds so I can pipe it. I saved my leftover filling…it wouldn’t take much to turn it into a delicious cocktail!

To get the full effect, you've got to dress these up like real margaritas! I found some small candy fruit slices {which I cut in half}, added little cocktail umbrellas, and cut some drink stirrers in half to make “straws.”

Cheers!

Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes
{makes 24 cupcakes}

Cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs

3 limes, zested and juiced
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Strawberry Tequila Puree:
8 oz strawberries, hulled & sliced
1 lime, zested and juiced
1/2 cup of tequila
2 tablespoons of sugar

Frosting:
1 cup shortening
1 cup butter, slightly chilled
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup strawberry tequila puree

DIRECTIONS:
Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 325˚ F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; whisk to blend. Using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 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

Filling:
While the cupcakes are baking, add your strawberries, lime juice, tequila and sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Puree the mixture until there are no chunks of strawberry. Set aside.

Filling the cupcakes:
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.

Frosting: 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 onto cupcakes.