Margarita Cupcakes

This is for you lil' sis - Happy Birthday!!! Can't believe you are turning 23 this year... how time flies! I'm glad I had the opportunity to send you a nice birthday treat through our middle sis, so I hope you enjoyed it.
With your standing request of green treats, this time I made a margarita cupcake - although not entirely green (the green curd was made by adding artificial coloring, or else it would just look like lemon curd), you get a nice surprise green middle. And limes are green, so that counts right? :)
Here is my wish/hope that you have a wonderful birthday, and that this coming year is as exciting and fulfilling as you want it to be!

Ingredients:

For the curd: 

• 2 whole eggs plus 8 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 6 limes)
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
• a tiny bit of green food coloring (optional, add a little at a time)

For the cupcakes:

• 3 cups AP flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 100g (about 1 1/4 cup) unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup lime juice (about 4 limes), zested and juiced
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk

For the frosting:

• 2 cups sugar
• 8 large egg whites
• Pinch fleur de sel (coarse salt)
• 1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. tequila

Directions:

1. Lime Curd: combine whole eggs and yolks, sugar, and lime juice in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat back of a spoon. Remove from heat. add butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap, pressing it directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled and firm, at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days).
2. Cupcakes: preheat the oven to 325˚ F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, coconut flakes, 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 and lime juice.  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.2. 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.  If desired, brush the cooled cakes with tequila to emphasize the true margarita flavor.3. Frosting: combine the sugar, egg whites, and salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.  Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.  Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated.  If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more (don’t worry, it will come together, though it may take a very long time!)  Stir in the lime juice and tequila and mix until fully incorporated and smooth.4. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.  Frost the cooled cupcakes with the buttercream.  Garnish with a dot of lime curd.

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats (for cake and frosting) and Martha Stewart's Cupcakes (for lime curd)

Que? Lime Pie

Like the name for my pie? I have been watching “The Next FoodNetwork Star” show, and in one of the episodes, a team of chefs wanted to make a key lime pie, but could not find any key limes, so they made a regular lime pie, but added the “Que?” as in “What?” in Spanish. I know, I know… it’s a bit corny, but I love silly jokes! I’m one who laughs her head off at the silly jokes on Laffy Taffy candy wrappers… *head slumps down in embarrassment*

Anyways, back to the pie. I made this pie for this year’s 4^th of July gathering at my mother-in-law’s house. Both my husband and his mom love key lime pie, so I thought I would attempt making one. The key limes at the store weren’t looking so hot, so when I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman Cooks, I knew I had to make it! I modified it a little bit by decreasing the amount of crust that it originally calls for, and I also added the meringue topping, as my husband INSISTED on a meringue topping. Now if you know my husband, you can attest that he is very laid back and doesn’t put his foot down for much (usually that’s my job), so when he was so adamant about the meringue topping, I just had to oblige. And I must say it was a good change! The meringue topping recipe is from Paula Deen’s lemon meringue pie recipe.

I want to try this same recipe one day and actually make it with lemons instead, to see how it turns out. I think you could make it with either key limes, limes, or lemons and it would be wonderful. Bom apetite!

A half eaten pie was all I could get in my camera, sorry!

“Que?” Lime Pie

Ingredients:

Crust

·         1 1/2 cup Graham Cracker crumbs

·         ¼ cup sugar

·         6 Tbsp unsalted butter (3/4 stick), melted

·         One 9-inch pie plate (I used a glass one)

Filling

·         4 whole egg yolks, room temperature
·         3/4 cup lime juice (~ 3 limes juiced)
·         1 Tbsp lime zest

·         1 can (14 Oz) sweetened condensed milk
·         1/3 cup heavy cream

Meringue Topping

·         4 egg whites, room temperature

·         1/2 tsp cream of tartar

·         6 Tbsp superfine sugar (if not available, process regular sugar until fine in a food processor)
·         1/2 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust:
Crush crackers in a food processor or Ziploc bag. Pour them into a bowl and stir in sugar and melted butter with a fork. Press mixture into bottom and sides of pie plate and bake for 5 minutes or until golden and set. Remove from oven and set aside to cool to room temperature before adding the filling.

For the filling:
Beat egg yolks in a mixing bowl until smooth and slightly lighter in color. Add in lime juice, lime zest, condensed milk and heavy cream and mix on high until smooth and thick. Pour mixture into crust and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly before adding the topping.

For the meringue topping:

Mix sugar and cornstarch together; set aside. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar mixture until stiff peaks form. Spread over filling; seal to edge of crust. Set oven to broil mode and bake for 1 minute or so (don't take your eyes off; it browns very fast!) Alternatively, bake for 10 minutes on 350 degrees F or until meringue is golden brown.

Remove from oven, allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour—more if possible.

Recipe adapted from the following recipes:

Pioneer Woman Cooks

Food Network – Paula Deen