Better-Late-Than-Never Caipirinha Cupcakes

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:14:41 +0000

Caipirinha cupcakes so yummy you'll want to samba!

I actually made these cupcakes LAST Monday and wanted to post this a week ago. I thought I had lost my editorial opportunity to celebrate balmy breezes but Mother Nature has given me another reason to post this recipe since the weather is going to be so freaking awesome AGAIN all week. (Also I just realized my last post was yet another missive about querido Brasil). Yes, I will go ahead and say it: It’s so temperate you may actually feel like you’re wintering in Rio de Janeiro. I can hear them sambaing outside my window now.

For the uninitiated caipirinhas are basically the national liquor drink of Brazil and are made with cachaça, a liquor distilled from sugar cane. I’m not quite sure why, but in the United States it is categorized as Brazilian Rum, which is a misnomer because rum is actually made from molasses. (Apparently in the states anything made from sugar cane is classified as rum). I am chalking this up to the same reason that in American we pronounce foreign words however the hell we want. Seriously it’s pretty obvious that Bret Favre’s name is not pronounced /farve/ people. There’s NO ‘r’ where you’re putting an ‘r.’

Back to the cupcakes. In general the recipe worked well, and tasted limey, but not very much of liquor. I am wondering if someone can help me out with this. I used Leblon cachaça (I would probably go with a cheaper brand next time since I was not drinking it) and perhaps it was too refined.

So here is the recipe I adapted from other tinkering:

For the batter:

2 sticks (12 ounces) butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature, plus 1 large egg white
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients (prep these before you start mixing the dry ingredients )

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
Grated peel of 4 limes, plus 1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the icing
1 stick butter

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons cachaça to start.
I kind of fiddled with the icing ’cause liquor can be really tricky to work with. I would start with two tablespoons and see what happens from there.
Remaining lime zest

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 cupcake pans with baking liners. Using an electric mixer, beat 2 sticks butter and the granulated sugar until creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs, egg white and oil. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. In a large glass measuring cup, stir together the milk, 2 tablespoons lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. On low speed, mix in one-third of the wet mixture, then one-third of the dry mixture. Repeat twice, ending with the dry mixture. Mix in half of the grated lime peel.

Fill each baking liner about three-quarters full with batter. Bake until the cupcakes spring back when gently touched, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes. After cupcakes are cool mix together 2 parts lime juice to 1 part cachaça, poke holes on top of cupcakes and brush cupcakes with lime liquor mix.

Meanwhile, using the electric mixer, beat the remaining 1 stick butter until creamy. Beat in 1 cup confectioners’ sugar. Beat in the cachaça, and the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, lime peel, 1 teaspoon salt until smooth and creamy. Beat in the remaining 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar one-third at a time, until just soft enough to spread.

Spread the frosting on the cooled cupcakes. Decorate with any kind of really-bad-for-you sugar doo-dads you see fit. I used (and actually took the time to separate blue, yellow and green sprinkles. Huh? Yes, I do have a life. Rude!) sprinkles in the colors of the Brazilian flag and silver dragees just ’cause it seemed carnavalesque.

Image: Cocktailatlas.com

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Better-Late-Than-Never Caipirinha Cupcakes