It's almost Cinco de Mayo, and I've got two things on my brain.  First, with all my April travels, I haven't baked in awhile, so I've been itchin' for the kitchen.  The second thing is margaritas because I love holidays that give me an excuse to make a batch.

Recently I saw a post on iambaker that satisfies both of these cravings - margarita cupcakes!  To make my day even better, the recipe is made from a modification of a boxed cake mix.  HOORAY!  The cupcakes are tequila lemon cake and the topping is a lime buttercream with salt!  Drooling right now...

For the cake:

  • 1 box lemon cake mix (but ignore the directions on the back)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup tequila
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine all of the ingredients in a stand mixer until smooth.  Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.  Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Super simple, right?

For the buttercream:
  • 1 box (1 lb) confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tsp lime zest
  • 1/8 tsp kosher salt
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • 1-2 tbsp milk or half and half
Cream together ingredients, adding milk to achieve your consistency preference.  Pipe on cupcakes and garnish with more kosher salt, lime zest, sugar crystals, and lime slice.  I think, based on my piping results, I need a little more practice with the ruffle tip!