Day 349 – Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

Well, these Key Lime Cupcakes (recipe below from The Nifty Cupcake) mark the end of the 2nd week of July.  That means only 2 weeks left of new cupcakes before we begin the final tastings.  They’re gonna be crazy, let me tell ya!  There have been soooo many tasty cupcakes!  Let’s really savor the last 2 weeks, shall we?

    

The cupcakes are fairly dense and very sticky. They have a very strong lime flavor. Very. Strong. They’re pretty sweet too, but the bite of the lime cuts through that a little. The graham cracker crust pulls away from the liners surprisingly well. It sticks right to the cupcake.

The filling is soft and creamy, even after being in the refrigerator. It’s extremely tart! I don’t really taste anything else. Just tart lime creaminess.

The frosting is thick and smooth. It has a strong, sweet lime flavor. It’s tart, but not anywhere near as tart or as bitey as the filling.

    

When all the pieces are together, this cupcake has a perfect balance. The tart filling complements the lighter cupcake and frosting. The graham cracker crust (and sprinkles on top) give it a nice texture, without being too crunchy. And, a lot of the tartness and bitterness gets cut by the other parts, which is good.

Scoring Sheet:

• Cupcake Taste: 3.5

• Frosting Taste: 3.5

• Overall Taste: 4

• Appearance: 4
• Ease of Making: 3.5
• TOTAL: 18.5

RECIPE

Key Lime Cupcakes (recipe from The Nifty Cupcake)

Key Lime Pie Filling:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 (9 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 5 oz. key lime juice

Graham Cracker Crust:

• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 3-4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Lime Cake:

• 2 and 1/4 cups flour
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream or buttermilk
• 1 TBS lime zest

Lime Buttercream:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 6 to 8 cups powdered sugar
• 3 TBS key lime juice, possibly more to thin out frosting
• splash of vanilla

For directions visit The Nifty Cupcake.

Tomorrow: Best Oreo Cupcakes*

Day 295 – Key Lime Cupcakes

My dear friend, Marc, is coming to visit me tomorrow.  Yay!  I’m so excited.  One of my favorite memories with Marc is doing a show in Key West.  We did lots of shows in Florida together (when we both lived there).  But, getting to go to Key West and “work”…it was amazing!  So, to celebrate getting to see him tomorrow, I decided on these Key Lime Cupcakes (recipe below from Unusually Lovely).

    

The cupcakes are very cakey. Not to moist, not too dry. Not too dense, not too squishy. They have a lightly sweetened flavor with just a hint of line. A very passive cupcake. The graham cracker crust has a nice crunch to it. It’s sweet, but no sweeter than a graham cracker itself.

The frosting is whipped cream. Yum. All around. Easy to make. Always looks pretty. And yum. Sweet vanilla cream.

    

This cupcake is very light overall. No flavor necessarily overpowers the others. The graham cracker is probably the strongest flavor, though I get a lot of vanilla as well. The crunch is a nice contract to the otherwise ooey-gooey texture between the cake and the whipped cream.

The whipped cream may benefit from a little lime juice as well, to really punch up the flavor. I don’t get a lot of lime taste overall, which is sad in a key lime cupcake.

Scoring Sheet:

• Cupcake Taste: 3.5

• Frosting Taste: 4

• Overall Taste: 4

• Appearance: 3.5
• Ease of Making: 4
• TOTAL: 19

RECIPE

Key Lime Cupcakes (recipe from Unusually Lovely)

Crust: 

• 3 cups graham crackers, crushed
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 11 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Cupcake:

• 14 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 1/2 cup flour
• zest of a lime
• juice from 2 limes

Whipped Cream Frosting:

• 4 tbsp sugar
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp vanilla

For directions visit Unusually Lovely.

*Tomorrow: Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes*

Day 242 – Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

I am declaring it spring.  Whether the weather here in New York decides to join me or not.  So today I’m taking us back to my (somewhat) roots.  Florida!  (For those who don’t know, I lived there for 7 years before NYC, but I’m not actually from there.)  Either way, here they are.  Key Lime Pie Cupcakes (recipe below from abc News).

    

The cupcakes are thick and dense. Not dry, just a very solid cake. They have a sweet vanilla flavor with a little kick of lime at the end.

The frosting is very thick. It pipes nicely with the round tip, but it is really thick! It has a very sweet buttercream flavor with a little bite of the lime.

    

This is a nice, light, springtime cupcake. It’s sweet with a fairly strong vanilla taste overall. Then it finishes nicely with the lime. It’s not tart, like limes can be. Just a little lime-flavored. Simple. Sweet. Springy.

    

Scoring Sheet:

• Cupcake Taste: 3.5
• Frosting Taste: 4
• Overall Taste: 4
• Appearance: 3.5
• Ease of Making: 4
• TOTAL: 19

RECIPE

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes (recipe from abc News)

For the cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp key lime juice
• 1 tbsp key lime zest
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature

For the frosting:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , firm but not cold
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. key lime juice
• 1 tbsp key lime zest
• 1/2 tsp. milk (only if necessary)

For directions visit abc News.

*Tomorrow: GF Chocolate Cupcakes with Garbanzo Beans*