These cupcakes are SPRING-Y!!! As in they feel like spring in a cupcake! The apple is super subtle and the lime gives them a feeling of freshness and just a little bit of tartness. They taste like "YES! Sun, you are back! I've missed you so much, lets go on a picnic together."
There is also a little bit bourbon in it, I can't help it, I'm addicted. It just makes everything so much better.
The icing is a Swiss meringue butter cream, which is always fun to make because you get to break out the candy thermometer. Also, whisking egg whites and sugar over a pot of simmering water is VERY soothing. TRY IT next time you are stressed, its like all your tension dissolves in the swirling and dissolving sugar.
The cake has bits of pureed apple, lime juice and zest (what a great word, ZEST, so much fun to say!) and cardamom. Its light, fluffy, and soooooo tasty!
Green Apple and Lime Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 34 1x
Ingredients
For the Green Apple and Lime Cupcake:
- 3 apples, peeled and pureed
- Juice from ½ lime
- Zest from 1 lime
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 2 tsp cardamom
- 3 cups cake flour
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tbs baking powder
- 2 sticks of butter (softened, or zapped in the microwave for 10 seconds)
- 3 eggs
- 1 egg white
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 ¼ cups sugar
For the Lime and Bourbon Swiss Buttercream
- 4 egg whites, at room temperature
- 3 slicks of butter, softened and cut into small pieces
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- zest of 2 limes
- Juice from 1 ½ limes
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp bourbon
- ½ tsp cardamom
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Whisk the flours, salt, baking powder, and cardamom in a large bowl
- In a stand mixer cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition
- Mix milk, vanilla, and lime zest together in a small bowl
- Add the ½ lime juice to the pureed apples
- Add flour mixture and milk mixture to the butter and sugar, starting with just ⅓ of each and alternating wet and dry ingredients.
- Mix in the apples and lime juice
- Divide batter between prepare cupcake tins, filling ¾ of the way
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
For the buttercream:
- Place egg whites and sugar in a heatproof mixing bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 160 degrees
- Remove the bowl from heat and attach to a stand mixer. Whisk on medium high speed until stiff peaks form (about 6 minutes)
- Reduce speed to medium and add in butter, one stick at a time
- Mix in lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract, bourbon, and cardamom. Mix well after each addition.
- Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and enjoy!
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