With a Lime Twist

I have not so patiently waited for a certain fruit to be in season. For the past couple of months a recipe for Key Lime Cupcakes has lain in wait. Finally, I discovered the box set out at the grocery store for the lovely little green devils and only one bag remained.

Pie runs a close second on my favorite desserts list. Mainly, meringue or pudding style pies are what I love. Apple pie is great, but give me Lemon Meringue or Key Lime and I'm in sweet tooth bliss.

This being the first cake tribute to pie that I have ever done, I felt compelled to truly understand what I was representing. I found a well-written article here. I believe I was just as surprised as the author to learn the pie's recipe originates with condensed milk arriving in the Keys.

Here's what I took from the origin story: Key Lime Pie is a celebration of change as well as a unique platform for self expression. What a fabulous tale to attempt to translate via cupcakes.

First, I needed to deal with the little limes.  In case you're unfamiliar, key limes are smaller than your ordinary limes used to chase tequila and not as tart. My obstacle for this recipe? Juice and zest. You ever try to zest something about the size of a cherry tomato?

And to those that have read previous postings: yes, I got some of my pinky knuckle but I don't think it made it all the way into the zest.

Juicing was a bit easier although still tough. It takes quite a few of these little buggers to get 2 tablespoons of juice. Thank goodness for the awesome countertop juicer I found online!

Next was the matter of a chocolate crumble base for the cake. The recipe called for chocolate cookies crumbled up. Unfortunately, the grocery store had every type of cookie but the one I needed. I did, however, find chocolate graham crackers! Good old fashioned sandwich bag and rolling pin never fails to produce marvelous crumbles.

Finally, with chocolate crumbles in the cups, I am ready to mix my batter and pipe it into the cups. I recently got the mixer bowl cover that provides for an easy way to add ingredients without spilling on the counter. The shield around the remaining areas of the bowl help keep any overly exuberant flour from poofing out and away. What a wonderful add-on; I'm sad I waited so long to get it! 

I love substitutions. Where applicable, I prefer to find healthy substitutions such as applesauce instead of oil. In this recipe, buttermilk was called for. Normally I would add some lemon juice to soy milk and be on my merry way. This time, however, I used plain yogurt as my substitute. I thought this would bring an added depth to the cake.  

Let me just say real quick: I was incorrect about the yogurt. Far too thick a substitute! The cake was super dense - although still tasted great. Also, yes, those are pepperoni slices on the counter; no, they are not for this recipe. I got hungry after all the zesting and juicing!

The recipe calls for a buttercream frosting flavored with more key lime juice. I decided I wanted cream cheese frosting. I love how smooth and silky it is. For some unspoken reason, I felt a lavender-pink a nice contrast to the flavor. This was a fun little treat.