Margarita Cupcakes

What better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo than with a delicious & boozy margarita cupcake recipe?!

Y’all,  these are so good. Even if margaritas aren’t your typical adult beverage of choice, you need to give these a try. And, yes — tequila is involved.

The original recipe is found here, but I made a few tweaks (see below):

 

Margarita Cupcakes

Here’s what you’ll need:

Cupcakes (yields 16)

• 1 box of white cake mix
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 1/3 cup of tequila
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 stick salted butter (1/2 cup)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon lime zest (about two limes)
• 1 tablespoon of tequila for brushing the tops. Instead of straight tequila, I used Jose Cuervo’s Golden Margarita  (it’s made with Cuervo® Gold, Grand Marnier®, and lime) for some extra flavor

Frosting

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, room temp
  •  (A little AnnieCakes secret — I have always used salted butter instead of unsalted in my frostings. I find it makes the frosting more rich/flavorful)
• 2 cups powdered sugar (keep extra on hand if you prefer your frosting more stiff)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoons tequila
• 1/2 tablespoon lime zest (about one lime)

Garnish

• 1/4 cup sanding sugar

 

Let’s get to baking those cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake tins
2. Mix together wet ingredients: lime juice, tequila, milk, and butter until combined. Add in cake mix 1/3 at a time — adding the next third after mix is combined with wet ingredients. Scrape bowl and add in lime zest. Mix for another minute or until batter smooth and fluffy.
3. Divide batter into lined cupcake tins — filling each tin 2/3 full
4. Put in oven, and turn down the temperature to 325 degrees.
5. Bake for 22 – 25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes are ‘springy’ to the touch (you can always do the toothpick test as well — if toothpick comes out clean, they’re ready).
6. Let cupcakes cool to room temperature
7. Brush tops of cupcakes with tequila (or Cuervo’s Golden Margarita)
8. Refrigerate cupcakes for 30 minutes before frosting

While the cupcakes are in the fridge, whip up your frosting:

1. Mix together cream cheese and butter until combined.
2. Add in powdered sugar, lime juice, lime zest, and tequila — mix until frosting is smooth and starting to ‘peak’. If you like your frosting to be more stiff, add more powdered sugar until you reach your preferred stiffness

Once your cupcakes are ready to be taken out of the fridge, pipe the frosting onto each cupcake.

To garnish, pour sanding sugar onto a small plate and roll edges of frosted cupcakes in sanding sugar.

 

Arriba! They’re done!

I hope you enjoy these as much and my family and I did! Let me know how yours turn out!

Have a fantastic Cinco de Mayo! I will most definitely be celebrating with a margarita in hand this evening 🙂