Luscious lime cupcakes with a lime and cream cheese frosting.
Two lonely limes. Just sitting there in my produce basket. Looking back at me for over a week. Poor little limes. They felt so neglected. I could tell. I'm sensitive like that.
Those limes were originally destined for pico de gallo, or salsa, or something with a southwestern flair. I don't know how they wound up in cupcakes in the middle of winter! I know it's probably a totally inappropriate time of the year to be making Lime Cupcakes. I think of lime desserts for summer time, don't you? But those little limes just needed some lovin' so here's what I did with them.
How to Make Lime Cupcakes
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350. Line your muffin pans with 12 paper liners and set them aside. Zest and juice the limes.
By the way - do you have one of those microplane zesters? It's the best and easiest way to zest a lime. Or a lemon or an orange for that matter. If you don't have one, run right out and get yourself one today. You'll thank me later.
Whisk both the flours together in a medium bowl and set it aside for now. Beat the butter in a large bowl until smooth. Then add the sugar and beat it until blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the next 3 ingredients. Don't worry if the batter looks sort of curdled at this point. That's okay. See the photos below. The one on the left is before the flour and buttermilk were added.
Beat in the flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.
Spoon ⅓ cup of the batter into each liner. Isn't that the prettiest lime green? These cupcakes bake up to a slightly golden color on the outside, but the inside - wow - beautifully limey. Bake until a tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pans and cool them completely.
For the frosting, beat all the ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth. Spread or pipe onto cupcakes.
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Lime Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup self-rising flour
- ½ cup butter room temperature (1 stick)
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
- 13 drops yellow food coloring optional
- 2 drops green food coloring optional
- ¾ cup buttermilk
Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup butter room temperature (1 stick)
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Line muffin pans with 12 paper liners.
- Whisk both flours together in a medium bowl.
- Beat butter in a large bowl until smooth.
- Add sugar and beat to blend.
- Beat in eggs one at a time, then next 3 ingredients (batter may look curdled).
- Beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour.
- Spoon ⅓ cup batter into each liner.
- Bake until tester inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack in muffin pans for 10 minutes.
- Remove from pan and cool completely.
Make the Frosting:
- Beat all ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth.
- Spread or pipe onto cupcakes.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
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Jennifer Hardy says
This recipe is fabulous!!!!!! The best lime cupcake I have ever made. It will be well loved in our home. Even my daughter that "hates fruit" loved them. Thank you so much for sharing it! I don't know if you get comments from old posts, I just had to say thanks.
Lana says
Thanks, Jennifer! I'm glad you like the cupcakes. They're one of my favorites, too.
FlyGirl24 says
What is the point of the food coloring? Just to make it lime colored? This is just like Denny's neon green "key lime" pie. Not necessary!
Lana says
Yes, the food coloring is to enhance the green color. Leave it out if you don't want to use it.
FlyGirl24 says
Thanks! Always looking for ways to make things more natural, but I wasn't sure if less liquid would make a difference.
Amy from She Wears Many Hat says
Yummy yum yum! Lime is a favorite any time of the year.