CUPCAKES!

Tonight I made cupcakes to take to my Spanish class tomorrow morning. It's the last class before finals, so we are kind of celebrating by having a pot luck. It's also the day we do our five minute speeches. The cupcakes I made aren't just any old cupcake. Our dishes had to be Spanish in some way. So, my cupcakes are Margarita Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and Tequila Sunrise Cupcakes which are adapted from the Margarita cupcakes.

Margarita Cupcakes

(from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World)

1/4 cup lime juice

1 1/2 tsp lime zest (1 lime)
1 cup soy milk (plain or vanilla)
1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp tequila
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Fill a 12-cup muffin tin with liners.In a large bowl, mix together lime juice, lime zest, soy milk, oil , tequila, vanilla and sugar.In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to lime mixture and stir until just combined. Divide evenly into muffin tins.Bake for 20-24 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed.Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Tequila and Lime Frosting
1/4 butter or nonhydrogenated shortening, softened
1 tbsp soymilk
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp tequila
2+ cups confectioners' sugar
coarse sugar for "rims"

Cream together butter/nonhydrogenated shortening (depending on whether you want the frosting vegan or not), soymilk, lime juice, tequila, and 2 cups of confectioners' sugar. Add in more sugar as needed to make frosting stiff, but spreadable.Spread on cupcakes and roll the edges in a small amount of coarse, colored sugar (poured into a small bowl, so it's easy to direct it.

If you would like the recipe for the Tequila Sunrise Cupcakes, please see Nicole Weston's Blog http://www.slashfood.com/2006/12/31/tequila-sunrise-cupcakes/

This is my second time making both types of cupcakes. Last I used orange zest instead of the cherry on the Tequila Sunrise Cupcakes. I think the cherry makes it a lot prettier. As this is for a class on campus that includes some dual enrolled students I did not use tequila in the frosting, as it's not cooked down. Also the frosting was a little too sweet the last time that I made it, so I went a little less. You will need to expirement and find out how much works best for you. Best part - there is no egg used, so you can lick the spoon without worrying about getting sick.