Friday, August 26, 2011

Happy Writers: Lime Cupcakes For Everyone!

This is my new favorite cupcake: The Lime Cupcake. A little slice of heaven, I'm telling you.


So I'm often passing out virtual cupcakes at our Happy Writers meetings, but today I thought I'd actually pass out a recipe for this lovely, perfect, and surprisingly simple cupcake. And with it I want to give some good writing advice: Have other hobbies.

Seriously. There's a lot of waiting to be had in the publishing world, and you have to fill it with something. You could fill it with angst and staring at your email inbox (guilty). Or you could spend it making cupcakes and watching Downton Abbey (also guilty). Which one is more fun? Well, I'm gonna have to go with the cupcakes. Cupcakes make EVERYTHING better.

Doing life. Just as important as writing life. If not more.

On to the recipe!

Natalie's Lime Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

For Cupcakes:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup 2% milk (I've used 1%, too, and it's come out fine. Not sure about fat free.)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg whites (large eggs)
1-2 limes (or 4-8 key limes [those babies are small])
2 drops yellow food coloring
4 drops green food coloring

For Topping:
3 ounces Cream Cheese
2 ounces soft butter
2 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar
1 lime
Crushed graham cracker OR toasted coconut (depending on your preferences)

Directions:

For Cupcakes:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners (supposed to make 24, but I usually get like 21).

• In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt with a whisk. In a large bowl, put in shortening, then pour in the milk and vanilla. Do NOT mix, as the milk will go everywhere.

• Add half the dry flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix, add the rest until well blended.

• Zest one whole lime into the mixture (Or two, if you want it really limey, but I like mine more subtle...so I can eat more. [Plus the frosting has lime, too.]), and then cut lime and squeeze the juice into the mixture. Add the food coloring. Blend.

• Add four egg whites, beat mixture until it's fluffy with slight peaks (makes for an equally fluffy cupcake).

• Fill cupcakes 2/3 full with batter. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (always 20 minutes for me, but I'm at high altitude so it could be different). Cool 10 minutes in pan, then take out to cool completely.

For Topping:
• Beat cream cheese and butter together until blended.

• Zest lime and squeeze in juice. Blend.

• One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar and blend. If it seems too runny, add more sugar until firm. Put in fridge to cook while cupcakes do.

• Crush graham crackers or toast coconut, depending on your preference.

• When cupcakes have cooled, frost them generously, then dab the cupcake in graham cracker or coconut. (If I had extra limes, I would also cut slices to put on top as decoration, if I were getting super fancy.)

And there you have it! I hope you like them if you try them, and if you don't...don't tell me! Ha. I think I'm just as nervous about sharing a recipe as I am about sharing a book! What if you don't like it? What if it's just me? IT COULD BE THE WORST CUPCAKE EVER.

But it's not. It's amazing.

I hope. *deep breath*

24 comments:

  1. I'll have to pass this on to my kid. I can burn water :-(

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  2. Oooo, I can't wait to try these! Anything with lime is okay with me. And isn't Downton Abbey the most fabulous show ever? :)

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  3. Uh, YUM. I'm all over this.

    Also, I love that you made them while watching Downton Abbey. That is a night made of winning.

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  4. I ADORE lime! I simply MUST try this recipe!

    Lately I've been filling the time with ZUMBA. And sewing, and playing piano, and painting, and all sorts of other things.

    Maybe I'm still not sure what I want to do when I grow up. I know I want to eat cupcakes, though.

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  5. Oh my gosh, these look AMAZING! Now I want to bake....

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  6. Yummy and pretty! I really want to try this recipe.

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  7. Oh yum! I love Key Lime Pie, I bet I would LOVE these. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. As soon as I saw that photo, my tastebuds screamed MUST MAKE THEM! MUST HAVE RECIPE! Fortunately you read their mind (apparently my tastebuds have a mind of their own now, hmmm). Thanks!

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  9. Oh, I was hoping for a recipe. Thank you! These look delish!

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  10. Mmmm, lime! I bet they'd be awesome with a meringue-y sort of frosting, too.

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  11. Oooh, thanks! Cupcakes are appropriate for any occasion. :-)

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  12. My critique group has a tradition of special cupcakes whenever one of us finished a draft. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  13. They sound scrumptious! Thanks for bringing cupcakes. :)
    My Blog

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  14. Om nom nom. I love, love lime in baked goods.

    If I try them, I'll let you know. If there's any disaster, I assure you it will be at my hands. For someone who likes baking, I'm terrible at science.

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  15. Cupcakes! I love making cupcakes! It is the perfect way to procrastinate. When your ms is glaring at you all forgotten in the corner because you have editing to do, you can say "But I made cupcakes! And they are delicious!"

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  16. Thanks for making me these awesome and spectacular cupcakes. They are my new favorite!

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  17. Yummm! Thank you for sharing this! <3


    ♥.•*¨Elizabeth¨*•.♥
    Can Alex save Winter from the darkness that hunts her?
    YA Paranormal Romance, Darkspell coming fall of 2011!

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  18. They look delicious! And I adore Downton Abbey!
    But, as I am currently living in the southern hemisphere, I have a couple of questions about the recipe.

    Is 'all purpose' flour, flour with no rising agents? Where I am we have 'plain' flour (no rising agents)and 'self raising' flour (with rising agents), because you also have baking powder in the recipe I'm thinking your 'all purpose' flour is our 'plain' flour.

    Also, how much is 1/2 shortening?

    Anyway, hope you can answer these baking questions so I can try these babies out!

    Thanks
    Melissa x

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  19. kllamp, bah, sorry that was 1/2 cup shortening! Thanks for pointing that out. And yes, it's just regular flour with no rising agents:)

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  20. Thanks! Will try to send a pic when I try them out! (limes are still pretty expensive here, just coming out of winter and all, although not as expensive as bananas - around $14 per kg thanks to a cyclone earlier this year that wiped out most of the crops!)

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  21. Thank you for sharing this recipe! Scrumdidleeicious!

    One question - and I don't know if you'll get it since you posted this in August, but:

    Do you beat the egg whites to peaks before you add them to the batter, or do you add them then beat them, and they fluff up that way? (I didn't know egg whites could fluff batter up like that, if that's the case)

    Thanks again! Excited to try these, whilst watching season two of "Downton Abbey." (But I'll have to try them before that, since that isn't until, what, February or something?)

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