Key Lime Cupcakes

Yummy-oh!

I've been in the mood for all things citrus-y and sour lately. Must be passed on from my hubby's current obsession with clementines! We've been eating them by the handfuls!

And so, I was thinking of making cupcakes that day when I chanced upon this key lime recipe from Bon Appetit. It looked pretty simple, and all I needed was to get myself some key limes - which i love! :D Whenever I have hokkien mee I must spray it with a good dose of lime juice before tucking in. Same with mee siam. But of course I don't use key limes for them. The ones I use in Singapore have yellow centers, as opposed to the ones shown below.

Each lime packs quite a punch!

By the way, this cupcake recipe calls for buttermilk, which I don't have. The good news is, buttermilk can be easily (oh so simply!) made at home using normal milk and white vinegar. All you have to do is put one tablespoon of vinegar in one cup of milk and let it sit for 10 minutes. You'll notice the change in texture and there you have it - buttermilk! Save yourself from running to the store and getting a huge packet - the bulk of it which won't be needed for this recipe!

Just a note, I didn't use the cream cheese frosting from Bon Appetit's recipe. Instead, I used normal butter cream frosting, and added the juice of one lime and some lime zest, to taste. Also, I followed the recipe pretty closely and felt that it was pretty sweet. I wished the cake was more sour so I topped mine off with a lime wedge for that added punch! :)

Key Lime Cupcakes (from Bon Appetit)

Ingredients for Cupcakes

1 cup all purpose flour 
3/4 cup self-rising flour 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 
1 1/4 cup sugar 
2 large eggs 
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel 
1/4 teaspoon neon-green food coloring 
3/4 cup buttermilk

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting  

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature 
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Whisk both flours in medium bowl. Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then next 3 ingredients (batter may look curdled). Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Spoon scant 1/3 cup batter into each liner.

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool.

For the frosting, beat all the ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread over cupcakes.

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