Ring in a Sweet New Year with Cosmopolitan Cupcakes

I'm sure it'll come as no surprise to anyone to learn that I like to ring in the New Year with sweets. Really, I'm not a big drinker, so celebrating with sweet treats is how I indulge. This year though, I'm going for a double whammy and combining one of my favorite cocktails, a Cosmopolitan, with one of my favorite desserts, cupcakes! Cosmopolitan + cupcake = what else?! Cosmopolicakes!

What a way to celebrate, huh?! I was certain that I wouldn't be able to pull these off. I just didn't think I could get the flavors of a Cosmopolitan to translate to cake, but I did, and am I ever glad!! They're sweet with a zippy little punch to them, and definitely grown up! But they don't have to be, I offer substitutions for all of the alcohol so that you can make these treats kid-friendly! Another awesome thing about these? They can easily be "vegan-ized!" I've included vegan substitutes in the recipe, as well!

The "grown up" version taste best after sitting overnight. The alcohol flavors have a chance to develop, especially in the frosting, so the cupcakes taste like the cocktail by the next day. But don't worry, the alcohol isn't overwhelming at all. in fact, the flavors blend wonderfully. The cake is sweet, moist, and just slightly dense, while the frosting is creamy and a little tart. They compliment each other perfectly. After sitting overnight, the frosting also has the perfect amount of bitterness, from the alcohol, to balance the sweetness.

I ended up having to make these cupcakes three times before I got them just right. I really wanted to make sure that I got the components of a Cosmo (cranberry, lime, and orange) in the cakes, but each of those ingredients adds not only liquid, but sugar to the recipe, so I had to work to balance that out. Plus, I really wanted these to be vegan, so I had some trial and error to work through for that.

The first batch of these that I made was delicious, but their texture was really off. Like I said, I wanted these to be vegan, so my starter recipe was based on a vegan margarita cupcake recipe. I used sugar, all-purpose flour, milk (soy or almond, for vegan), canola oil, triple sec, cranberry juice cocktail, salt, baking soda, baking powder, orange zest, lime or lemon zest, vanilla, and lime juice to make them.

First of all, I want to specify that lime zest is preferable to lemon zest. I, however, had to use lemon. Can you believe that the day I went to buy my groceries, there were no limes available anywhere?! I went to three separate grocery stores and nothing! Not even key limes!! I even have a lime tree in my yard, and it wasn't giving any up for me either!

I digress... Using oil in this particular recipe was definitely not the way to go. They ended up being very dense, and chewy. Ick. The batter looked like liquid. It was just way too runny, and the cupcakes just turned out glue-y. I tried making them a second time, the same way, but mixed them less, in the hope that I had simply over mixed them, but no. They were still heavy and rubbery. Two batches down, no luck yet.

For the next try, I slightly altered the amounts of everything and replaced the oil with a stick of unsalted butter (margarine for vegan), and some apple sauce to bind everything together better. These turned out wonderfully! *whew!*

In a medium bowl, I combined the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set it aside.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the apple sauce then stir in the lime and orange zests. Add the cranberry juice, lime juice, triple sec and vanilla, and stir until combined. Sprinkle half of the flour mixture over the batter and beat until just combined. Stir in half of the milk, then add the remaining flour, and mix again until just combined. Finally, stir in the remaining milk and beat until thoroughly combined, but don't over mix. I chose to color my cupcakes pink, but you can leave them white too. If you tint your batter, stir the coloring in at the end.

Next I placed two tablespoons of batter in each cupcake liner and baked at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

The frosting was much simpler than the cupcakes, and I got it right on the first try! You just need unsalted butter (at room temperature), confectioners' sugar, cranberry juice cocktail, lime juice, triple sec (or orange juice), and vodka (optional). In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Add one cup of sugar and beat until combined. Stir in the cranberry juice until just combined, then add another cup of sugar and mix until combined. Stir in the vodka, if using, and the lime juice until combined. Add another cup of sugar and mix well. Finally stir in the triple sec (or orange juice), then add the remaining cup of sugar and beat until well combined and light and fluffy.

I kept decorations on these minimal and just gave the cupcakes a swirl of frosting, sprinkled each one with Cosmopolitan flavored sanding sugar, and topped them with adorable pink elephant cocktail picks! Ideally, I would have liked to include a single spiral of lime zest, like you would get in the drink, but like I said...no limes.

Whoopsie! Looks like someone had one cupcake too many!

Admittedly, these are pretty girly cupcakes, but then again, a Cosmo is a relatively girly cocktail too. The girly factor can be toned down, though, if you like. Both the batter and the frosting start out white, and you can add any color to them that you like. If I were to have a swanky New Year's Eve party, I think they'd look very elegant as all white cupcakes in black liners, with festive tinsel toppers. And an unexpected pink one sprinkled into the mix. But that's just me.

I truly love how these turned out! From the taste to the look, they are sweet and festive, and perfect for counting down to 2011! Enjoy!



Cosmopolicakes

Makes 3 dozen

Ingredients

FOR THE CUPCAKES
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (margarine for vegan)
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup apple sauce
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest (lemon is an okay substitution)
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
2 tablespoons cranberry juice cocktail
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons triple sec (orange juice for non-alcoholic)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk, at room temperature (soy or almond for vegan)
Food coloring (optional)

FOR THE FROSTING
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter (margarine for vegan)
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon cranberry juice cocktail
1 tablespoon vodka (optional)
2 1/2 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons triple sec (orange juice for non-alcoholic)
2 tablespoons milk (soy or almond for vegan), optional
Food coloring (optional)


To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the apple sauce then stir in the lime and orange zests. Add the cranberry juice, lime juice, triple sec and vanilla, and stir until combined.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sprinkle half of the flour mixture over the batter and beat until just combined. Stir in half of the milk, then add the remaining flour, and mix again until just combined. Finally, stir in the remaining milk and beat until thoroughly combined, but don't over mix.

Place 2 tablespoons of batter in each cupcake liner and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting: In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Add one cup of sugar and beat until combined. Stir in the cranberry juice until just combined, then add another cup of sugar and mix until combined. Stir in the vodka, if using, and the lime juice until combined. Add another cup of sugar and mix well. Finally stir in the triple sec (or orange juice), then add the remaining cup of sugar and beat until well combined and light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, stir in the milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.

Recipe by Darla