Gin and Tonic Cupcakes
These Gin and Tonic Cupcakes were created after the classic cocktail! They're full of gin, lime, and butter. What would be better??
Ingredients
- 215 g Cake flour 2 cups minus 2 Tbs
- 2 Tbs Lime zest About 2 large limes
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 200 g Granulated sugar 1 cup
- 113 g Unsalted butter, softened 1 stick
- 2 Whole eggs Room temp
- 120 g Sour cream (room temp) 1/2 cup
- 59 g Gin + extra for soaking the cupcakes 1/4 cup
- 59 g Tonic water 1/4 cup
- 2 Tbs Lime juice About 2 large limes
For the frosting
- 340 g Powdered sugar 2 ¾ cup
- 150 g Unsalted butter, softened 1 stick + 2.5 Tbs
- 2 TBS + 1 teaspoon Gin
- 1 Tbs Lime Juice About 1/2 large lime
- 1 Tbs Lime zest About 1/2 large lime
Instructions
Gin and Tonic cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two cupcake pans with 15 cupcake liners total.
- In a large bowl (not your mixing bowl) add the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, lime zest, and salt. Mix until combined then set aside.
- In your mixing bowl, add your softened butter and granulated sugar. Beat on a medium speed for about 3 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs to the mixing bowl and beat on medium speed for another 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the edges of the bowl, then add your sour cream. Mix on a low speed until sour cream is thoroughly incorporated.
- Add dry ingredient mixture to the mixing bowl. Use a spatula to gently fold in some of the dry mixture so that it doesn't fly out of the bowl when you turn on the mixer. Mix on low speed until just barely combined. Do not overmix!!
- With the mixer running on a low speed, slowly pour in gin, tonic water, and lime juice into the bowl. Mix until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is well mixed.
- Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3rds of the way full. This is usually about 3 Tablespoons of batter.
- Bake at 350 F for 15-18 minutes or until you can lightly touch the center and it springs back at you. Or, bake until a toothpick comes out clean when you poke the center of your cupcake. Mine usually take exactly 17 minutes, but everyone’s oven is different.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely.
- Use a fork to poke some holes about 4 times in each cupcake. Next, pour ¼ teaspoon of gin on top of each cupcake. For an extra boozy cupcake, increase this to ½ teaspoon. Any more than that could overpower the other flavors in the cupcake so beware of that before adding too much.
For the Frosting
- Beat 150g of softened butter in a large bowl with a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or with a handheld mixer for about 5 minutes until the butter is very pale and fluffy.
- Add your powdered sugar, lime zest, lime juice, and gin and mix until the frosting starts to come together.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat for another 3-5 minutes until all the powdered sugar has mixed in and the frosting is airy and soft. If your buttercream is too thick and hard to spread, try adding water or milk ½ tablespoon at a time. (Do not add more lime juice otherwise the frosting will become too tart.) If your buttercream is too runny, try adding more powdered sugar 1 Tbs at a time until you get your desired consistency. The frosting should be able to hold its shape without falling off a spatula, but not so thick that you can’t spread it.