Citrus Cocktail Cupcakes

Citrus Cocktail Cupcakes are boozy and sweet. Made with coconut rum, orange liqueur, and lime juice, they're the perfect dessert for a fun girls night in.

I'm working through lots of fears and perfectionism right now all brought up by my nasty little ego after a conversation about being vulnerable and putting your work out into the world before it's perfect, ironically enough. Do I have the courage to expose my stuttering imperfections? Well, it's happening, so I guess I just haven't given myself the option to back out. Make sure you're subscribed to The How to Be Awesome Podcast if you want to weigh in on whether or not I'm a blithering idiot.

The truth is, some things that look easy are actually really hard. Trusting your own voice, believing in your own abilities, and knowing that you will succeed can be pretty tricky for a lot of us, myself included. Putting yourself out there to be ridiculed, or worse, ignored, can keep you up at night. Maybe I should care less about whether or not people like what I create. I'm working on it.

What makes Citrus Cocktail Cupcakes so awesome?

The good news is that some things that look hard are actually really easy. Take these Citrus Cocktail Cupcakes for example. A fluffy white cake spiked with coconut rum and orange liqueur is topped with a billowing swirl of sweet, boozy citrus frosting flavored with lime juice and more orange liqueur. They're absolutely delightful, and they look so pretty. Trust me, if I can make these look cool, you can definitely do it.

The trick to getting that stripy effect in the frosting is almost too simple. All you need is a little bit of gel food coloring, a small paint brush, a piping bag, and a Wilton 1M piping tip. My frosting had a pale orange color already from the blood orange liqueur I added, but if you wanted to add some color to your frosting as well, that would be fine. I just used a small paint brush to paint two stripes (you could do more) of orange gel food coloring inside of the piping bag before adding the frosting. Then you just squeeze it out in a swirl and watch the magic happen. It's gorgeous.

How to make Citrus Cocktail Cupcakes

This is a pretty straight forward cupcake situation. You're going to cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer, beat in an egg, some milk, and some booze, then add your standard dry ingredients and mix everything together until it's nice and smooth. Fill your cupcake papers about two thirds full, then bake for about 18 minutes.

The frosting is nothing tricky, either. Beat together butter and cream cheese, then add in your powdered sugar. Put a tea towel over your stand mixer (if you're using one) to avoid a cloud of powdered sugar billowing across your kitchen. Then we'll add in some lime zest and juice along with a bit more orange liqueur for a subtle citrus hit. Then frost and decorate your cupcakes as you like. Scroll up if you missed the bit where I talked about how to get that cool stripe effect.

FAQ

Make it magical

Coconuts, with their nearly impenetrable shell, are commonly used for protection magic. They're also associated with water, the moon, and feminine energy. I also read that coconut is good for chastity, so maybe don't serve it on a date. For information about other ingredients in this recipe, check out my Kitchen Magick page. (Source: The Road Goes Ever On)

Go ahead and show off a bit, kids. Take a risk. Put yourself out there. Even imperfect Citrus Cocktail Cupcakes are still pretty awesome. The same goes for you.

Looking for more awesome cupcake recipes? Try some Better Than Sex Cupcakes or some simple Semi-Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes.

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