As soon as I saw the recipe for Cherry Limeade cupcakes on Annie’s Eats I was certain it would make it into the rotation sometime this summer.  I put the call out to my friends that I’d be making them this week and got a couple orders for these little summer goodies.

The recipe from Annie’s Eats was a pretty basic recipe, but I wanted to kick things up a bit and really bring out the lime flavor.  In the original recipe, they noted that most of the lime flavor came from the lime syrup that was drizzed on top, but I really wanted a punch of lime to come through in the cake itself.  I zested two limes and pressed that into the sugar, bringing out the natural oils and flavors creating a lime sugar.  I also added the juice of the two limes into the batter.   I also added a bit more lime juice concentrate than the original recipe called for too.  :)  And a few other tricks.

I’m really happy with the intense lime flavor of these cupcakes.  Paired with the sweet cherry frosting, it’s a perfect summer treat!

Enjoy!

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes
Makes 4 dozen cupcakes

Cake
5 1/4 cups flour*
3/4 cup corn starch*
1 tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 limes, zested and juiced

10 oz can of limeade concentrate or lime margarita concentrate, thawed and at room temperature

6 eggs

1 cup milk
1/3 cup hot water

*NOTE: This combo of corn starch and flour is to make cake flour.  If you have cake flour on hand, use 6 cups of it.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, prepare the sugar by working the lime zest into sugar by pressing the back of a spatula down into sugar, thus releasing the oils from the zest into the sugar. This process should take about five minutes, and the sugar will become very fragrant. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, salt, baking powder and soda three times.  You really want to make sure the corn starch is very incorporated into the flour.  Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth.  Add the lime sugar and mix on high until light and fluffy.
5. Add the entire can of limeade concentrate and lime juice.  Mix until combined.  Don’t worry if it appears curdled… it’s normal at this point!
6. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated.
7. In three parts, add the flour mixture.  Between each addition of flour, add half the milk.  Mix only until the flour is just combined.
8. Add the hot water and mix by hand until incorporated.  DO NOT OVER MIX!
9. Fill liners 2/3 full, or use an ice cream scoop to distribute one full scoop into each liner.
10. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
11. Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.