Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

These didn't turn out nearly as pretty as I was hoping for. The good side - I totally know what I did wrong so I can fix it next time. That always makes me happy! Our monthly cooking contest at work is this Tuesday. The theme is cake. I knew right off the bat that I wanted to make mini cupcakes so that it was truly bite-sized and easy for people to taste-test! I had several cupcakes that I wanted to try to choose from: Fluffernutter cupcakes, Pink Lemonade Cupcakes, Mimosa Cupcakes, and Pound Cake Cupcakes. I ended up choosing Cherry Limeade Cupcakes. I loooooooooooooooooove Sonic and cherry limeades. So these sounded absolutely delicious AND pretty. The cake is awesome. I have NEVER made cake that wasn't from a box before. I actually bought cake flour. Huge step! I even made the frosting - when I was piping it on, it ended up being a little runnier than I was hoping for. So, next time, more powdered sugar. Check. Since I made mini cupcakes, I didn't want to get big limes to garnish, so I bought some key limes. I only used like, three, so now I need a recipe that uses a LOT of limes.

Ingredients:
3 c. cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. + 2 tbsp. limeade concentrate (defrosted)
3 eggs
3/4 c. milk

3/4 c. limeade concentrate
1/2 c. powdered sugar

3 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
4 tbsp. maraschino cherry juice
red food coloring (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

Cream butter. Add sugar. Add limeade. Add eggs, one at a time.

Add in flour in three batches, alternating with milk. Begin and end with flour.

Spoon into muffin cups and bake 15-20 minutes (only about 10 if making mini cupcakes).

While cupcakes are cooling, combine limeade and powdered sugar. Whisk together.

Once cupcakes are cool, poke holes in the tops and drizzle with lime syrup.

For frosting, combine powdered sugar, butter and cherry juice. Mix on low until combined and then medium-high until smooth. Add red food coloring if desired.

Frost cupcakes and garnish with cherries and lime slices.

Yield: 24 cupcakes (or about 80 mini cupcakes - don't worry, I halved the recipe!)

Source: www.annieseats.wordpress.com