Margarita Cupcakes

Fake Ginger
Yields: 24

Margarita Cupcakes

2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon instant milk powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoon (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup margarita mix
5 egg whites, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 cupcake pans.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, instant milk, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In bowl of electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high until light, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract, then margarita mix. Reduce the speed to low and beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with clean, dry beaters and set on high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the beaten whites into the batter just until incorporated. (I hand beat mine and it was fine)

Divide the batter between the cupcake molds. Bake about 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.

Margarita Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened to room temperature 
2 tablespoons lime juice (I would recommend using 1 tablespoon unless my limes were extremely strong!)
½ cup  margarita mix  (I would use ¼  cup)
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (I used 6 because of all the liquid, I couldn't get the right consistency)

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add in lime juice and margarita mix; beat. Mixture will curdle, don’t worry about it. Add in powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.