Thirst Quencher

If I may say so myself... These cupcakes turned out amazing.

Moist cherry cupcakes with tangy lime cream cheese frosting. It's my favorite Sonic beverage in fluffy cupcake shape!

I know you want these in your kitchen, so let's get started.

 

Cherry Cupcake Batter

1  C.   Pastry Flour (I used whole wheat)

1/4  C.  A.P. Flour
1 ¼  Tsp.  Baking Powder
1/2  Tsp.  Baking Soda
1/2  Tsp.  Salt
1/3  C.  Oil
4  Tbl.  Butter (softened)
3/4  C.  Sugar
2  Large  Eggs
1/2  C.  Buttermilk
1/4  C.  Cherry Juice
1 ½  Tsp.  Vanilla Extract
1 ½  C.  Cherries (chopped)

Lime Frosting

1/2  C.  Heavy Whipping Cream

4  Tbl.  Butter (softened)

8  Oz.  Cream Cheese (softened)

1/4  Tsp. Vanilla Extract

2 Tbl. Lime Juice (I used fresh)

2  Tsp. Lime Zest


Preheat oven to 350°F
Prepare cupcake pan with 12-15 liners

Now for the fun part...

From Left to Right:
Sift Dry, Cream Fat, Mix Wet

Step 1 ~ Sift the Dry Ingredients

Sift together dry ingredients (pastry flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt). Set aside. 

Step 2 ~ Cream the Fat

In a medium mixing bowl cream together oil, butter & sugar. In a separate cup (so you can easily remove any shell pieces that fall in) crack and whisk eggs for 30 seconds. Stir the eggs into the sugar mixture. Set this aside as well.

Step 3 ~ Mix the Liquid Ingredients

For this cake there are a few wet ingredients. Stir together buttermilk, cherry juice & vanilla in a small cup.

Step 4 ~ Come Together

Using the sugar mixture as the center, alternate between the wet ingredients & the dry ingredients. Pour a third in at a time and blend. Do this until all ingredients are mixed together.

Step 5 ~ Bake It

Pour batter into lined cupcake pans a little less than half way. Drop in a few cherry pieces then top with batter and fill 3/4 full. Bake on the middle rack for 10-15 minutes. When the cupcakes are done remove from oven and let cool in pans for 5 minutes. Then remove from pans and place on cooling racks until you are ready to frost them. If you plan on frosting them at a different time just place them in an air tight container.

Let's move to the sweet & just the right amount of tart lime frosting. 

 

Step 1 ~ Whip It

As the name states it is whipping cream. In a stand mixer whip the cream on high until it forms stiff peaks. Then transfer (gently) to a air tight container and place in the refrigerator until the next step in completed.

Step 2 ~ Cream the Cream

Cut the butter and cream cheese into medium size chunks. Then in a stand mixer (rinse the bowl if you only have the one like me!) whip the butter on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Turn the speed down to medium and add cream cheese, toss in one chuck every few seconds. Cream together until the two become one. Mix in the vanilla and lime juice. Turn the mixer off and scrap down the sides of the bowl.

Step 3 ~ A Powdery Mess!

Now its time to slowly add in the sifted powdered sugar. You want to work quickly so that your mixture doesn't become too warm and gooey but, not too fast that you end up with more sugar on the counter than in the bowl! Once all the powdered sugar has been added turn speed to medium-high and whip for 5 minutes.

Step 4 ~ Almost Done

Remove mixing bowl from stand and grab the whipped cream along with a rubber spatula. Gently fold in the whipped cream into the creamy mixture. This will make your frosting fluffy and oh so delicious!!

Step 5 ~ The Best Part

Decorate & Enjoy.

For these cupcakes I garnished them with a dehydrated lime chip and a cherry (with stem because its prettier!) to mimic a Sonic Cherry Limeade.

I hope you try this recipe at home and let me know how it goes!