Long Awaited "Margarita Cupcakes"

For Cinco de Mayo the past couple of years I have been making "Margarita Cupcakes".  They are so cute and really not that hard to make. I usually make the cupcakes a day a head of time and put them in the fridge to keep them moist. And then ice and decorate the day they will be eaten. Below are pictures of when I made them last month, but of course, I forgot to take a picture of them "on location" all completed. So imagine the final picture with a lime slice on the edge.

                                                                                                  Margarita Cupcake Recipe

9 oz Margarita mix (non-frozen kind)
3 oz tequila
1 box yellow cake mix 
3 egg whites
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp lime zest 


Mix together the margarita mix and tequila. Use 1 and 1/4 cup of this in the cupcake mix and pour the rest over ice for a mini-rita while you're baking! 


With an electric mixer, add the cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, lime zest and margarita
mixture and mix on low until no lumps are left.
Spoon 1/3 cup batter into lined cupcake tin and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before icing. 

Lime Royal Icing
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted


In the bowl of electric mixer, beat the egg whites on medium to high speed until fluffy, about a minute. Add lime juice. Return to low speed and slowly add in powdered sugar. Beat until smooth    (you may need to add extra lime juice). You want icing to be semi thick and not runny, so that sprinkles do not run off. (think canned icing consistency) 

I ice the cupcakes and let them sit out on the counter for about 10 minutes, enough for icing to set but not harden. Royal icing hardens quickly, so do not leave sitting more than 20 minutes. I pour red and green sugared sprinkles on a plate and roll the edges of the cupcake through the sprinkles, like you would do with a margarita glass lined with sugar or salt. 

After rolling cupcakes in sugar sprinkles, I then cut up plastic straws into thirds and insert a third into each cupcake. Before displaying for your guests or party, top with a slice of lime on the opposite corner of the straw and you have the perfect "Margarita Cupcake"!! (thats the picture I forgot to take)

Be sure and store in air tight container because the royal icing hardens within an hour or so and sucks out the moisture from the cake, and nothing is worse than a rock hard cupcake!  ENJOY!!!