Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

I made margarita cupcakes a few months ago and they were very popular but two things about the recipe left me a little bothered. One I don't usually bake from a cake mix, so while the cupcakes are good, I felt like I was cheating. The second problem is that if I'm going to order a margarita, its going to be strawberry or maybe mango. I like my margaritas a little fruity. So I searched for a strawberry margarita recipe and came up with a few choices. I decided on this one from The Picky Apple although I did make several changes. Namely I used a non-alcoholic margarita mix instead of limeade. Don't skip the glaze on the cupcakes, while its a little messy to put on, it really adds an extra kick of flavor and helps keep the cake nice and moist.

If you want to make these cupcakes completely non-alcoholic, replace the tequila in the cake with half lime juice and half margarita mix. For the glaze, use margarita mix in place of the tequila.


Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes
Adapted from The Picky Apple

Cake:
3 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarita mix
2 T lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
5 T strawberry preserves
1/3 cup tequila
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add margarita mix, lime juice, lime zest, strawberry preserves and tequila and mix on low speed to incorporate. (Mix may appear slightly curdled at this point but don't worry, it will come back together with the flour.) Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 the milk, and repeat mixing after each addition until just incorporated, ending with the flour mixture.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners and bake approximately 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool approximately 10 minutes and remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Glaze:
1/2 cup margarita mix
2 T tequila
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Red food coloring

Add powdered sugar to a small bowl, whisk in margarita mix and tequila to make a thick liquid glaze. Add a few drops of red food coloring to desired color. Poke 4-5 holes in each cooled cupcake with a wooden skewer. Spoon glaze over cupcakes, about a tablespoon at a time, giving the glaze a chance to absorb before adding more. You don't want to saturate the cupcakes so you may have some extra glaze left over.

Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
4-6 cups powdered sugar
3 T margarita mix
2 T strawberry preserves
Red food coloring

Beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add margarita mix and strawberry preserves and beat until well incorporated. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time until frosting is desired consistency. Add a few drops red food coloring to tint frosting to desired color. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes as desired. Top with sliced strawberries for garnish if desired.