My last ditch effort to hold onto summer.. Key Lime Cupcakes with Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting

This weekend we went to a UFC fight night get together. I always enjoy trying to come up with something new to tantalize their taste buds. The only real requirement is that the goodies be something that they guys can pick up easily and take to the couch during the short commercials. The hosts are great about letting me know the main dish ahead of time.

The theme this Saturday was Mexican. My spicy pizza bierocks are always a hit so that was a given. Key Lime Cupcakes sounded like the perfect match to a spicy and heavy meal. I suppose I could have made them a bit lighter and not so rich. But what is the fun in that!

I chose to modify a coconut cupcake recipe from the Barefoot Contessa

Here is the recipe per Foodnetwork.com

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

Here is what I changed

I didn't have extra large eggs. 1 extra large egg is about 4 Tablespoons
No vanilla or almond extra. Instead I used about 4-5 Tablespoons key lime juice
3 1/4 cups plus 2 Tablespoons cake flour instead of AP flour
No coconut
Added lime zest of 2 limes

Simple Key Lime filling recipe -
I don't know where I originally found this. But I have been using it for years.

5 egg yolks
1/2 cup key lime juice
1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
Whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Start by juicing the limes. I like to use a garlic press to juice them. It is fast and efficient.

My helper came away from his mp3 player for this... well sort of.


See? All squished.


Ignore the brown peels. Beggars can't be choosers when it comes to produce in this town.

Pour the sugar and lime zest into a small bowl. Using your fingers, mash around the zest and sugar just as you would crumb together butter and sugar. Continue until all the sugar is moist from the oils in the zest.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a separate bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar/zest mixture until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time until well blended. As mentioned earlier, I didn't have any extra large eggs. To accommodate the recipe I whisked 6 large eggs together and then measured 20 Tablespoons of this mixture (1 extra large egg = 4 Tablespoons).

Mix in key lime juice

Alternate in the flour mixture and buttermilk. Adding only about a third of each and stirring until fully incorporated before adding another third.



Fill cupcake pan, with liners.

Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

While the cupcakes are baking make the filling.

Beat the egg yolks. Add lime juice and condensed milk. Cover and chill until slightly thickened. Mix in whipped cream. I normally make my own but was in a time pinch. So this time I used a carton of extra creamy whipped cream. Put mixture in fridge until you are ready to use.

Cool the baked cupcakes completely.

Prepare them for filling by using a paring knife to cut a cone out of the top. Slice off the majority of the cone, leaving a flat plug.

Spoon the filling into the hole in the cupcake and top at with the plug. Be careful not to over fill or the plug will lift.

There you go. Here is the cupcake looking like nothing happened!

Frost with your favorite icing. I had some left over Bailey's and cream cheese frosting in the freezer. Yes, I keep frosting in the freezer. All you have to do is thaw in the fridge and then whip for a few seconds to fluff it up again.All you have to do is thaw in the fridge and then whip for a few seconds to fluff it up again.

See!

Now here is what they look like inside.