LIME BABY CAKES

These vibrant Lime Baby Cakes are fun, ultra tasty, and completely addictive! Buttermilk makes these mini cupcakes dense and moist, and lime juice and zest give them zingy fresh citrus flavor. A swirl of cream cheese frosting on top offers the perfect creamy contrast.

These Lime Baby Cakes are for Mom.

For Mother’s Day, I wanted to share a recipe that I know Mom loves, but one that she doesn’t actually make for herself. (She likes to find them already made at our house!)

So whenever I make these Lime Baby Cakes, I stash a few away in the freezer for the next time she visits us. It’s what any good daughter would do, right?

I hope you like these awesome little cakes – they’re also especially great for St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo. But really, these baby cakes would be welcome at most any celebratory occasion!

Buttermilk makes these mini cupcakes dense and moist, and lime juice and zest give them zingy fresh citrus flavor. A swirl of cream cheese frosting on top offers the perfect creamy contrast.

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE BABY CAKES:

• 3-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2-1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2-1/2 c. sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 5 T. fresh lime juice
• 2 T. finely grated lime peel
• neon/electric green food coloring – I use this or this
• 1-1/2 c. buttermilk

FOR THE FROSTING:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1-1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 T. finely grated lime peel
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

FOR THE BABY CAKES:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. A couple notes: I prefer to use flexible silicone mini muffin pans with no paper liners for this recipe, but you can also prepare metal mini muffin pans with paper liners. I use these silicone muffin pans, which yield a little bigger mini cupcake than most – which I like! Sizes of mini muffin pans vary quite a bit, so your yield and baking time may vary.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar and beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then the lime juice, lime peel, and food coloring. Batter may look curdled, but that’s just fine. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, in 3 additions. Spoon batter into liners, about 2/3 full. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean. This took about 20 minutes for me, but it will depend on the size of your tins, so pay close attention to your baking time. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely before adding frosting.

FOR THE FROSTING:

Beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. With a medium-large plain round pastry tip (I like to use one that has a tip opening of about 5/16″), pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes, or simply spread it on with a knife. Sprinkle a bit of fresh lime zest over tops, if desired.

More Deliciouse Recipe LIME BABY CAKES @ afarmgirlsdabbles.com