Sunday, March 18, 2012

Ode to Saint Pat

Saturday was Saint Paddie’s Day.
We’re not usually huge on celebrating, but we do eat a little green food and don our best green outfits – maybe even break out an “authentic” accent… in public… much to my children’s chagrin.
We had some company over for lunch after church – I tried to go a little green with the table but when I saw these flowers I had to have them. Aren’t they beautiful? They’re not green, but purple and green are perfect together.DSCN4315DSCN4320
We showed Courageous at our church Saturday night. If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to. Amazing movie with an incredible message.
There was a bit of a snack potluck before the movie and, since it was still St. Patrick’s Day, I wanted to take something green along. I picked these Key Lime Cupcakes that I found on Pinterest. (If you need an invitation to Pinterest just holler and I’ll send you one.) They’re not super green in color, but they got the job done.
Key Lime Cupcakes
This is a recipe from Martha. No, not that Martha, but the Martha that heads up Guest Relations at Dave Ramsey.com, yes, that Dave Ramsey.
These were pretty good – what really makes them is the Key Lime Butter Cream on the top. You need to store any leftovers in the fridge, but they’re best served at room temperature.
The hardest part of the entire recipe is juicing the key limes. Key limes are the small, golf-ball sized ones – not the big bright green Persian limes. If you’re unable to find key limes you’ll need to buy key lime juice You’ll find it by the bottled lemon juice. In fact, the next time I make these, I’m going to buy the bottled juice instead of juicing the limes. You still need to buy the limes for the zest the recipe calls for, though.
I made two recipes so there would be plenty to share. But I ended up with an entire batch left over. So we’re getting our fill here for sure.
This would be a great recipe for the summer too – give it a try.

 

Cupcakes

1 box of vanilla cake mix (I prefer a French vanilla version)
3 teaspoons Key lime zest
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two muffin pans with 24 paper cup cake liners.
  2. Use a zester or cheese grater and scrap the outer, colorful skin of your limes before slicing and squeezing.
  3. Follow directions for the cake mix, then add 3 teaspoons lime zest to the batter.
  4. Fill each cup evenly (about 2/3 full)
  5. Bake for approximately 18 minutes and insert toothpick to test for doneness. If it comes out wet, bake an additional 1 minute at a time, checking until the toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Key Lime Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature – no substitutions
3 teaspoons Key lime zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 (16-oz.) packages powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Key lime juice (if fresh squeezed, strain to remove seeds)
3–4 tablespoons milk
  1. Beat softened butter, lime zest, vanilla, and salt together at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
  2. Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with Key lime juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, and 1 tablespoon milk, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition.
  3. Frost cooled cupcakes, and garnish with lime slices and lime zest, if desired.

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