These Cherry Limeade Cupcakes are brushed with a zesty fresh lime syrup and then topped with a sweet cherry frosting. A bright, tangy, summer dessert!
The trick to the fresh lime flavor in these cherry limeade cupcakes is the lime zest and fresh-squeezed lime juice syrup that is brushed on the cupcakes as they are cooling. It gives every bite of this cupcake a delicious lime kick. The cherry flavor comes from maraschino cherry juice and it truly tastes like your favorite cherry limeade drink when combined with the lime. We made these scrumptious cupcakes for my daughter’s graduation party and they were a hit. She loves birds, so we found these cute picks and used them to decorate the cupcakes. There are lots of decorative options with these cherry limeade cupcakes – maraschino cherries, lime slices, or sugar crystal sprinkles to name a few. These cupcakes take a little extra time to make and have a few more steps than your run of the mill store bought cake mix, but they are so worth it. The batter is mixed in three stages to get the consistency just right. We adapted this recipe from cookingclassy.com and we love it. The colors in these cupcakes make them perfect for bridal showers, baby showers, birthday parties, or a fun dessert anytime.
Cherry Limeade Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 Tbsp lime zest
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 large eggs
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp fresh-squeezed lime juice
Simple Syrup
- 2 Tbsp fresh-squeezed lime juice
- 2 Tbsp sugar
Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups butter
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- Few drops of red food coloring optional
- 1/3 cup maraschino cherry juice
Topping options
- Decorative picks maraschino cherries, lime slices, sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Sift all-purpose flour and cake flour into a large bowl. Whisk in baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk and lime juice. Set aside.
- In a food processor, pulse together the sugar and lime zest until finely ground. In an electric mixer (or with electric beaters in a large bowl), whip the sugar/lime zest mixture with butter until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl while mixing to ensure it is all blended. Gradually add eggs and egg whites one at a time and then vanilla. Mix well.
- Add 1/3 of flour mixture to the batter and mix just until combined, then add 1/2 of buttermilk mixture to the batter and mix. Repeat ending with last 1/3 of flour mixture.
- Divide batter among 24 muffin cups lined with cupcake liners.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes in muffin tin, then transfer to a wire cooling rack and add simple syrup.
Simple syrup
- Whisk lime juice and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. With a pastry brush, brush syrup over warm cupcakes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely.
Frosting
- Whip butter in a mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in 1/2 cup powdered sugar, then maraschino cherry juice and red food coloring. Slowly add remaining 4 1/2 powdered sugar and whip until well blended. If necessary, add more powdered sugar to reach desired consistency.
- Spread or pipe frosting on completely cooled cupcakes.
- Add desired decorative topping.
kelly says
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Echo says
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