Friday, March 18, 2011

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes



My favorite pie by far is Key Lime Pie. When Jake's sister, Ashley, asked me to bake some beach themed cupcakes for her wedding, my heart and tummy went strait for Key Lime. These cupcakes are super moist and taste like you are taking a bite of Key Lime Pie. No joke. I made them on a Sunday night and ate 2 strait out of the oven. I then proceeded to dream about them while at work on Monday and soon found myself having a Key Lime Cupcake dinner... healthy choice fail. Due to my lack of Key Lime self control, I will not be making these cupcakes again until Ashley's taste test :)

The only things I am going to do to tweak this recipe are increase the baking powder to 3 tsp and whip the egg whites to fold them into the batter before baking. Hopefully this will give them a less dense, more fluffy texture. Either way, I think these are my favorite cupcakes I've made so far. 



Recipe from Bitchin Camero

For the cake:
2 sticks (16 tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups natural cane sugar
3 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup key lime juice, either from real key limes or bottled. I used Nell & Joe’s brand.

For the icing:
2 sticks (16 tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (16 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line muffin pans with paper liners or mini muffin pans with mini liners.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides then add the key lime juice. Turn the speed to medium-low and beat for another minute. Stop the mixer.
Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed (stir), add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Fill the cupcake liners to the 2/3-level with batter. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes for full-size or 15 minutes for mini. They’re done when a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.
While the cakes cool, make the icing. Mix the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed until the sugar incorporates, then turn it up to high and whip for about 3 minutes. Spread the frosting generously on top of each cupcake.

Makes 2 dozen full-size cupcakes.

I topped mine with crushed graham crackers and green sprinkles :)

Monday, March 14, 2011

Week 7 Runs

Tuesday I got home from work, put on my running clothes, and headed out the door for my run. I tried the mapmyrun.com site and found a new 2.3 mile loop that was pretty interesting. I ran by one historical site for the old Glebe House which served as a parish since the 1700s. Pretty good run all in all :)

Friday rolled around faster then I anticipated and I decided to hit the gym after work. I ran 2 miles on the treadmill in 18:10 minutes. I had some extra energy and walked at a 3.5 mph speed at an incline for .25 miles and then sprinted .25 miles at a 7.5 pace. I hung around the gym and did some weights and such after. I'm glad I did since pizza and quite a few beers followed once we met up some friends to watch the Virginia Tech basketball game (which we won!!).

My long run was once again side tracked by a ski trip. Jake, our friend Josh, and I decided to head up to Liberty Ski Resort on Saturday to get in one last ski trip before the season ended. The weather was warm and sunny but the conditions were on the slushy side to say the least. It was like trying to ski on a Slurpee. The trip was still fun and we stayed out for almost 8 hours. I also had made a deal with Jake that I would give snow boarding a shot by the end of the season. I stuck to my word and actually was able to stand up, stop, and slightly steer by the end of Jake's lesson :) I think I'll give it another shot next year.
 Anyways, the combination of the long time on the slopes and the hard to ski slush pretty much made my legs jello for the rest of the weekend and I had to forgo my long run on Sunday. It wasn't a total loss though. With my extra time, I did make some chocolate coconut cupcakes to bring to a our friends' Sunday dinner. I'll post the recipe later this week :)