Key Lime Pie Cupcakes! You Put the Lime in the Coconut…!

We made it through the heatwave, and we didn’t melt! It did drop like 20 degrees in a matter of an hour! Gotta love Chicago. Don’t worry, people will soon be complaining about the bitter cold and wishing for that heatwave. Any who, no bitter cold yet and we will summer on with my Key Lime Pie Cupcakes! Limey cake with a graham cracker bottom topped off with light as air coconut swiss meringue buttercream. Mmm, you put the lime in the coconut… and eat it all up 🙂

We have a tradition with my nieces and nephew, that each year around their birthdays we take the birthday girl or boy for the weekend in the big city. It’s such a fun tradition and they get to get away for a special weekend with their aunties and grandma, out of the confines of the burbs where they get to experience new things they just can’t get every day. It’s getting a bit harder as they get older in that in-between stage, not little kids anymore, but little teenagers, so we have to get creative. We had my 14-year-old niece this past weekend during the heat wave, so that made things even a little more difficult! Last year we took her to indoor skydiving, which she loved! Although she threw up later that night and I think the skydiving may have contributed to the twisted tummy! Any who, what to do this year that was not an outdoor activity.

Well, we decided to be tourists in our own town and took her up to the top of the Hancock building for the 360-degree view of the beautiful city! Plus, you can do the tilt, where you are up against the glass at the top of the building and the wall tilts out, so you are looking down all those floors. I did it with her. She loved it and thought it was scary. I thought it was overrated and not scary, but hey, it wasn’t my birthday weekend, so I guess what I think doesn’t matter 😊. Then, of course, we did all the other typical things, took her out to a yummy Italian dinner, SoulCycle in the morning, I made my cinnamon cassava pancakes for breakfast, went shopping, got our nails done, you name it! It’s always a good sign when she passes out on the couch after a long day while I was making dinner! We did our job!

Of course I  make them a special birthday treat too while they visit. She loves lemon and other citrus so I thought these would be a perfect treat on the hot summer day. I do like a good pie, but I love a good cake and cupcake. But hey, why not have both. You get the zingy flavor of the key limes in the soft and moist crumb of the cake along with the quintessential graham cracker crust bottom! All topped off with my all time favorite, light as air Coconut Swiss Meringue Butter Cream. The perfect key lime pie flavor in the perfect bite of a cupcake. Pure Bliss!

Toasted coconut flakes to amp up that coconut buttercream!

Graham cracker crust is the perfect base for the tender, light and super limey cake!

Candied key limes make a sweet little cupcake topper! Plus you will use the simple syrup from candying to brush the top of these cupcakes to impart even more key lime flavor. Bonus, you can use the key lime simple syrup for lime margaritas!  I always seem to go back to booze… 😉

So, despite the heatwave, the weekend was a summer smashing success between the all the city sights, sounds and adventures. Of course, the icing on the cake…err cupcake, was these Key Lime Pie Cupcakes and, of course, precious quality time with the best Auntie out there…that would be me. 😊

Happy Weekending and Key Liming!

Diane

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes! You Put the Lime in the Coconut...!

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

16 mins

Total time

46 mins

 

Author: Diasne

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• Candied Key Limes:
• 3 to 4 small key limes
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• For the Cupcakes:
• 1⅔ cups cake flower
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ cup canned lite coconut milk
• ¼ cup key lime juice (can sub lime juice if you can't find key limes)
• 1 tbsp. lime zest
• 3 egg whites
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ⅛ tsp. coconut extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter – room temp
• 5 tbsp. unsalted butter melted
• 1 package graham crackers
• ¼ cup vanilla coconut yogurt – room temp
• ⅛ - ¼ tsp. powdered green food coloring or gel (optional)
• For the Coconut Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
• 5 large egg whites
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• ½ tsp. of salt
• 4½ sticks of unsalted butter - room temp
• 2 tsp. lime zest
• 2 tbsp. canned coconut cream
• 2 tsp. of vanilla extract
• ⅛ tsp. coconut extract

Instructions

1. For the Candied Key Limes:
2. Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees and thinly slice the key limes. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking pad or parchment paper, set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and the water and stir over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved.
4. Add the key limes to the saucepan and bring up to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the limes from the simple syrup and place on the prepared baking sheet. Pour the simple syrup in a heat proof jar and allow to cool to room temp. Cover and place in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Bake the limes for another 15 minutes. Allow limes to cool completely on the pan. Toss in superfine sugar if desired. Store covered at room temp for 2 days.
5. For the Cupcakes:
6. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cupcake pan with liners and set aside.
7. In the bowl of a food processor, add the graham crackers and pulse until a fine crumb. Add the melted butter to the crumbs while it's still running until evenly incorporated. Add about 1 tbsp. of graham crackers to the bottom of the cupcake liners and press down evenly and slightly up the sides and set aside. You will have some left over crumbs.
8. In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients and whisk to combine, then set aside.
9. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth about 2 minutes. Slowly add in the sugar and continue to beat for another 3 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
10. Add the coconut yogurt and beat until combined.
11. Beat the egg whites until slightly foamy. Add to the butter sugar mixture in three pours. Beat after each addition until incorporated.
12. In a measuring cup add the key lime juice, coconut extract and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
13. Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Add half of the wet mixture and combine. It will curdle some, that’s ok. Add another third of the dry and mix. Then add the rest of the wet mixture and combine. Last, add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Do not over mix.
14. Add the lime zest and stir to incorporate.
15. Using an ice-cream scoop or about ⅓ cup, fill each cupcake liner ¾ rds. full. Gently even out tops with offset spatula or knife.
16. Bake on middle rack of the oven for 16 to 18 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
17. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan on rack. Then remove from pan and allow to cool completely on the rack.
18. For the Coconut Swiss Meringue:
19. Separate whites from yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer.
20. Pour sugar and salt in bowl with the egg whites.
21. Place bowl over, not touching, a pot with simmering water.
22. Whisk constantly until sugar has completely dissolved around 160 degrees. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can tell it’s done when you rub a little of the mixture between your fingers and it is completely smooth with no graininess. Should take about 10 minutes.
23. Then return bowl to stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
24. Begin beating the eggs and sugar until whites are glossy and stiff peaks have formed.
25. The bowl should be cool to the touch, this will take around 10 minutes.
26. Next switch to the paddle attachment and beat on medium high speed.
27. Add the butter slowly one piece at a time to incorporate. The mixture will look like it’s curdled, keep mixing, that is normal.
28. Mix until frosting is smooth and shiny.
29. Add in the coconut cream along with the vanilla and coconut extract and mix to combine. Add the lime zest and mix to incorporate.
30. Frost the Cooled Cupcakes:
31. Lightly brush the tops of the cooled cupcakes with the key lime simple syrup. Add the frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with tip of choice. I used a large French star tip. Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes and top with toasted coconut flakes and candied key limes before serving. You can store frosted cupcakes in air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
32. Enjoy!

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