Mini Lime Cupcakes with Tequila Buttercream (Vegan Recipe)

Perfect in March or May

I’ve wanted to make lime cupcakes for quite a while now. The recipe has been on my to-do list for several months. Maybe it’s because St. Patrick’s Day is approaching and I see green everywhere I turn, or because I recently received two vegan cookbooks to review for work, but I decided the time was right to try a batch of mini lime cupcakes with tequila buttercream. Serve these cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day, or save them for a Cinco de Mayo celebration!

The first cookbook I received was Betty Goes Vegan by Annie & Dan Shannon. The couple took on the task of veganizing hundreds of Betty Crocker recipes (as well as creating additional recipes) as a way to teach people that any dish can be made vegan. The second book was Chloe’s Vegan Desserts by Chloe Coscarelli (you might remember her as the first vegan winner of Cupcake Wars). Pretty much every page in her book made my mouth water!

Search and swap

I don’t follow a vegan diet, but I do like to make and eat vegan recipes. I needed to do a bit of research for my ingredient list for these cupcakes. I reached out to a friend, consulted the Post Punk Kitchen, and read through the two cookbooks I had on hand. For this recipe I used blended tofu as an egg replacer, canola oil instead of butter, and almond milk instead of cow’s milk.

Sugar seemed to be a bit of an issue for me in this recipe. Most vegans don’t consider standard, white granulated sugar to be on their list of edible ingredients. This is because animal bones are used in the process to make the sugar white. So be sure to look for vegan sugar (that goes for powdered sugar, too). Also, not all food coloring is vegan, so take note if you’re planning on tinting your buttercream. For this recipe, I followed one of Chloe’s recipes for buttercream, and swapped out the whiskey in hers, for tequila in this one.

These mini lime cupcakes with tequila buttercream are moist and limey, and I’m in love with them! It wasn’t difficult to veganize this recipe at all, and the result is sure to appeal to just about anyone with a sweet tooth.

Recipe for Mini Lime Cupcakes with Tequila Buttercream
Makes 2 dozen mini cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For the cupcakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup (vegan) sugar
• 1/4 cup blended silken tofu
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

For the buttercream

1. 1 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
2. 3 cups (vegan) powdered sugar
3. 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4. 2 tablespoons almond milk
5. 3-4 teaspoons tequila
6. (Optional) green food color

INSTRUCTIONS

For the cupcakes

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2, 12-cup mini muffin pans with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to blend.
3. In a separate medium bowl, add the oil and sugar. Beat with a mixer until combined. Add the blended tofu and continue to beat until combined.
4. Beat in about half the flour mixture. Add the lime juice while blending, and slowly add the remaining flour mixture. Beat until everything is combined and smooth.
5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tins, almost to the tops.
6. Bake fore 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
7. Allow the cupcakes to sit in the tins for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.

For the buttercream

1. While the cupcakes are baking, beat the shortening with a mixer until it’s smooth. While the mixer is running on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond milk until you reach your desired consistency.
2. Add the tequila one teaspoon at a time, until you reach your desired flavor. Beat the mixture for a few more minutes.
3. If you’re using food coloring, add it to the buttercream and mix until it’s combined and your desired color.
4. If you’d like, add the buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with the tip of your choice to decorate the cupcakes once they are completely cooled. Otherwise you can simply spread the buttercream on the cupcakes once they have completely cooled.

Makes 2 dozen mini cupcakes