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Key Lime Cupcakes

These key lime cupcakes are light, refreshing, and packed with lime flavor. They are made with both key lime zest and juice!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time14 minutes
Total Time29 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16 cupcakes
Calories: 374kcal
Author: Stefani

Ingredients

Cupcake Ingredients

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups cake flour not self-rising
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons key lime zest zest from about 12 key limes
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1/3 cup full-fat sour cream
  • 1/4 cup canola oil you can also use vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract use pure, not imitation
  • 2/3 cup whole milk room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons key lime juice

Frosting Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar add more until it reaches your preferred consistency
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cupcake Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
  • In a medium-sized mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, mix together sugar, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and zest.
  • Add butter and mix on medium-low speed for three minutes. Because there is so little butter, you'll end up with a very fine crumb texture.
  • In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
  • Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.
  • Slowly add milk and key lime juice and mix on low speed until just combined. The batter will be liquid. (Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong. It's supposed to be that way.)
  • Fill cupcake liners just over 1/2 full.
  • Bake for 14 minutes and then test to see if they are done. They are done when a toothpick comes out without wet batter stuck to it. These cupcakes will have flat tops, so do not look for doming as a sign of doneness. If they are not done, test again in two minutes. If they are still not done, test again in another two minutes.
  • When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from the tins and leave them on a cooling rack (or just on your counter if you don't own a cooling rack) to cool.

Frosting Instructions

  • Beat butter on high speed with an electric mixer for about three minutes until light and airy.
  • Mix in powdered sugar a little bit at a time.
  • Add salt and sweetened condensed milk and continue to beat for another minute. If desired, add more powdered sugar to make the buttercream frosting stiffer.
  • Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Notes

  • Be careful not to over-mix the batter.
  • Use room temperature ingredients - everything will mix together more smoothly that way.
  • Because everyone's oven is just a bit different and your liners may be a slightly different size than mine, I highly recommend that you bake a test cupcake before baking your whole batch of vanilla cupcakes. Read my FAQ on filling cupcake liners to learn how to do a test cupcake and why it's useful.
  • You can use limes instead of key limes if you can't find key limes near you.
  • If you don't want to open a can of sweetened condensed milk to make the frosting, use a tablespoon of vanilla instead. If you do open the can, try using the rest of the can to make dulce de leche, tres leches cupcakes, or caramel cupcakes.

Nutrition

Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 523IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg