Key Lime Cupcake : Free and Easy Bake-Along #13

For our Bake-Along #13, Lena from Frozen Wings, Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids and myself, we baked Key Lime Cupcake, recipe taken from Bon Appetit Dessert Cookbook. This is a really nice cupcake, perfect with the cream cheese frosting.

I like most cakes without frosting but for these, it tasted much yummier with the frosting.  Do not skip the frosting!  : 0)

I did add on a little of the green food colour to make it a lovely green. 

The cream cheese frosting is "melting" real fast, due to the extremely hot weather here, it's blazing hot, 95 degrees F, the sun is glaring and I can feel the heat on my skin at 4.00pm! The cream cheese is getting very soft, I've got to put away the cupcakes in the fridge for the cream cheese to firm up again! 

Overall this is a nice cupcake, the texture is soft and moist, we really enjoyed it.

And check out our lovely badge, designed by Zoe. Thank you, Zoe! You many copy the image if you like and paste it over at your post for each Bake Along that you join in! 

To view this cupcake baked by other bakers, click on the linky below.  Please feel free to join in. For our next Bake-Along, we will be baking based on a theme, which is "Pancakes and Crepes". Whip out your best pancakes or crepes, treat your family and friends with some delicious homemade pancakes or crepes and share that with us on 08/12.  See you!

Key Lime Cupcakes
(adapted from "Bon Appetit Desserts" by Barbara Fairchild)
Makes 12 cupcakes
Cupcakes
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/4 cups sugar (I use 180gm)
2 large eggs
2-1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
1/4 teaspoon neon green food colouring (optional)
3/4 cup buttermilk (I substitute by mixing 6 tbsp milk plus enough yoghurt to make 3/4 cup)


Frosting
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 (8-ounce) package Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Cupcakes : Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 standard (1/3 cup) muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk both flours in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then lime juice, lime peel, and food colouring, if using. (Batter may look curdled). Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Spoon scant 1/3 cup batter into each liner.
Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely.


Frosting : Using electric mixer, beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread over cupcakes.