Key Lime Pie Cupcakes
I bake over 200 of these cupcakes for our church suppers, and we always run out. If you cant find Key lime juice, use lime juice. Just add a tad more sugar.
I bake over 200 of these cupcakes for our church suppers, and we always run out. If you cant find Key lime juice, use lime juice. Just add a tad more sugar.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup butter softened
- frosting:
- 1/2 cup key lime juice
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 packages (14.1 ounces each) refrigerated pie pastry
- 2-1/2 cups sugar
- 1-1/2 cups self-rising flour
- 1-1/2 cups buttermilk
- 12 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1-1/2 cups butter softened
- 2-3/4 to 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 6 tablespoons key lime juice
- fresh raspberries
- Carbohydrate 9.20507679100381 g
- Cholesterol 27.5582407916429 mg
- Fat 9.70038892724881 g
- Fiber 1.15146875437889 g
- Protein 2.16676158346167 g
- Saturated Fat 5.79400875176503 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (62g)
- Sodium 190.555582342542 mg
- Sugar 8.05360803662492 g
- Trans Fat 0.98369076905448 g
- Calories 130 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350degrees. Line 32 muffin cups with foil liners. On a lightly floured work surface, unroll pastry sheets. Cut 32 circles with a floured 2-1/4-in. round cookie cutter (discard remaining pastry or save for another use). Press one pastry circle into each liner. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until crumbly. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lime juice. In another bowl, whisk flours; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
- Pour batter into prepared cups. Bake 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until blended. Beat in enough confectioners' sugar, alternately with lime juice, to reach desired consistency. Frost cupcakes; top with raspberries. Refrigerate leftovers.
Should the pastry circles be baked before the batter goes into the lined tin, or does everything cook simultaneously? Pre-baking the 2-and-one-quarter-inch pastry rounds for ten to twelve minutes until lightly browned establishes a crisp foundation that prevents the bottom from turning soggy under the weight of the heavier batter. Working systematically through the mixing stages requires alternating the dry flour components with buttermilk while beating thoroughly after each addition, which incorporates maximum air into the crumb structure without overworking the gluten. When fresh Key limes are unavailable, standard Persian limes serve as a viable substitute, though you may need to increase the granulated sugar slightly to balance the sharper citric acid profile.
Managing Moisture and Emulsions
Cream cheese frosting demands careful temperature control to avoid separation during whipping, so ensure both the dairy fat and the butter sit at room temperature for at least an hour before mixing. Creaming the butter and sugar until the mixture appears genuinely crumbly rather than paste-like guarantees proper incorporation of the eggs one at a time. Once frosted, store any leftovers in the refrigerator because of the perishable dairy ingredients in the cream cheese topping, bringing the cupcakes back toward room temperature briefly before serving if you prefer a softer pastry crust.
