CUPCAKES:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
zest and juice of 1 1/2 limes
2 tbs tequila
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk

TO BRUSH THE CUPCAKES:

1-2 tbs tequila

TEQUILA-LIME FROSTING:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 3/4 cups 10x sugar
1 tbs lime juice
2 tbs tequila
pinch of coarse salt

preheat the oven to 325 degrees. line a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.

in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and fluffy (about 5 minutes).

reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime zest, lime juice, vanilla and tequila. mix until combined. (the mixture may start to look curdled at this point, but don’t worry. it will all come back together.)

reduce the mixer speed to low. add the dry ingredients in three batches, alernating with the buttermilk in two batches. mix only until just incorporated, using a rubber spatula to give it one last mix by hand.

divide the batter between the muffin cups. bake for approximately 25 minutes or until just slightly golden and a skewer shows only moist crumbs attached, rotating the pan at the halfway point.

allow cupcakes to cool for 5-10 mnutes, and then remove to a cooling rack. brush the tops of the cupcakes with the 1-2 tbs of tequila. set the cupcakes aside to cool completely before frosting them.

to make the frosting: whip the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed using the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. reduce the speed to medium-low, and gradually add the 10x sugar, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated. give it a mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. add the lime juice, tequila and salt and mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and fluffy. if the frosting appears a bit too soft, add some additional sugar one spoonful at a time until desired consistency is reached. frost cupcakes and garnish, if desired, with lime zest, an additional sprinkling of salt and a lime wedge.

makes 12 cupcakes