Margarita Cupcakes: Can a Cupcake be Dangerous?

Margarita cupcakes, like margaritas themselves, go down smooth, leaving you with just a small tickle in your mouth from the salted rim (yes, the rim of the margarita cupcakes has salt, but it's mostly sugar).  The margarita cupcakes won't get you drunk, but they are boozey.  There's tequila in both the margarita cupcake batter and the margarita frosting.  

The Margarita Cupcake Back Story

I was invited to a Memorial Day game of wiffle ball (a game I hadn't played in years - and as it turns out still haven't). The last two parties that were hosted by the wiffle ball couple involved margaritas in some way so I felt that this one should, too.

Although we were were sitting on picnic tables in a shady St. Louis park, the cupcakes transported us to a glistening island shoreline.  There was no alcohol allowed in the park, but who would suspect that the margarita cupcakes I brought contained tequila?


Margarita Cupcake Recipe

I found a recipe for margarita cupcakes on Baking Bites, one of my favorite blogs.  The margarita cupcake recipe originally came from a Vegan cupcake cookbook called Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I'm not a vegan, but one nice feature of this cupcake was that the party's host, who is lactose intolerant, was able to eat them (he put up with the small amount of butter in the frosting).


Yield: 12 cupcakes

• 1/4 C lime juice
• 1 1/2 tsp lime zest (1 lime)
• 1 C plain or vanilla soy milk (Regular 2% milk would also work.)
• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 2 tsp tequila
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 C sugar
• 1 1/3 C all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. In a large bowl, mix together lime juice, lime zest, soy milk, oil , tequila, vanilla and sugar.
2. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 
3. Add the dry ingredients to the lime mixture and stir until just combined. 
4. Divide evenly among 12 cupcake liners.
5. Bake at 350 F  for 20-24 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed.

Margarita Frosting Recipe

While the flavor was spot on, I found the original frosting recipe to be a bit too clumpy. Here is my modified version.  You may also consider cutting this recipe in half.  I ended up with a lot more than I needed.

• 1/4 C butter or nonhydrogenated shortening, melted
• 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream or soymilk
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp tequila
• 2+ C confectioners’ sugar
• coarse colored sugar and salt for “rims”
• Umbrella toppers (optional)

1. Cream together butter/nonhydrogenated shortening (depending on whether you want the frosting vegan or not), heavy whipping cream or soymilk, lime juice, tequila, and confectioners’ sugar.
2. Add in more sugar as needed to make the frosting smooth and spreadable. 
3. Spread the frosting on the cupcakes.
4. Combine colored sugar and salt in a small bowl.
5. Roll the edge of each cupcake in the sugar/salt mixture.
6. Top with umbrellas.

Other Margarita Cupcake Anecdotes

1. Margarita cupcakes are not dangerous because of the alcohol. They are dangerous because one of my cupcake tasters cut the roof of his mouth with the coarse salt. We're talking blood and all. I call that user error.
2. Margarita is clearly not a winter kind of flavor, so I didn't expect it to be a wedding contender at all. I just made it because it seemed like a perfect wiffle ball summer thing. However, I've been informed that a family member of bride to be said, "I don't know what a blog is, but I know a great cupcake when I eat it." Apparently, he tried to convince the couple to adjust their wedding theme so that this cupcake could make an appearance. We'll have to make sure he gets to taste some of the future flavors. I like fans!

Update

The margarita cupcake was chosen for the wedding! The others that were selected were Soda Fountain Cupcakes and Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes.