48 Cosmopolitan Cupcakes

Another birthday cupcake request. Nothing says a girl's 21st birthday like a Cosmo! To make the drink, you need vodka, triple sec, lime, and cranberry juice. All things that are neccessary for these cupcakes, and all things that you can easily get your hands on.

These cupcakes have been the most productive cupcakes I've made in a long time. I started in the morning, and my deadline was later that same afternoon to have them ready to bring to work. I already had gotten all the stuff I needed. I had to pick up apple sauce, a lime, cranberry juice, and the required alcohol. I didn't need to buy anything that was weird or hard to find. For the amount of cupcakes I made, they turned out being relatively cheap cupcakes.

So Many Cupcakes!

I was interested in making these cupcakes because they have apple sauce in them. I've never made any cupcakes like this, but the rumor was that they make for really moist cupcakes. I used the zest from half of a lime and saved the lime itself for later in the icing. I kind of expected the batter to turn out pinker since the cranberry juice is in it. Well, not so much. I added a few drops of red food coloring to make it slightly pink. Since I baked these in the dark and un-tapered cupcake pans, the cupcakes came out a little dark for my liking, but not dark enough for me to have to rebake them. The other issue I have with these pans is that every time I use them, the papers come away from the cupcakes. It's annoying. I hate those pans.

The icing for these cupcakes was, for lack of a more appropriate word starting with the same letter, bologna. Maybe it was the disgusting heat and humidity of that day, maybe it was me rushing to get them done before I had to go to work. Whatever it was, it killed this icing, and with my mother there for moral support and some input, I did all I could to save it.  As far I'm aware of, I followed the recipe like I always do. The icing never thickened, it never got whippy, and it was never going to turn into icing. If this happens to you, there are a few things you can do. First, you need to diagnose the problem. If it's too runny, add more powdered sugar. Too thick? Add more liquid. For these cupcakes, I added more cranberry juice. My problem was it wasn't really whippy or icing-y. I added more butter. This still didn't fix my problem. Next, I added more sugar and cranberry juice. Going into this icing, I knew I wanted to add more cranberry juice anyway, since there wasn't a lot of juice in the cupcakes and I definitely wanted a big cranberry flavor, because it's a major component of the drink itself. After all this, my problem wasn't resolved. I added heavy cream in hopes of making it like a hybrid cosmopolitan whipped cream icing. I cranked the speed up on the mixer and it never turned into whipped cream. I decided at this point to add a ton of powdered sugar and make it as icing-like as I could. I quick piped it on the cupcakes and put them in the fridge, on account of the roughly 1/2 cup of heavy cream I added.

These cupcakes were generally good. Obviously the icing was really really REALLY sweet. You can taste the triple sec in the icing too, which surprised me. I was expecting it to be a more subtle flavor. The apple sauce did its job and the rumors are confirmed. The cupcakes were moist. The cake brought more of the lime flavor to create the whole experience of a cosmopolitan. With the right amount of cranberry juice and food coloring, it completed the flavor of the drink and brought it all together.

Cosmopolitan Cupcake Ingredients



Lime Zest in the Cupcake Batter

1 c unsalted butter
2 c sugar
3/4 c apple sauce
1 tsp lime zest
2 Tbsp cranberry juice cocktail
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 c milk, room temperature
2 Tbsp triple sec
1 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
food coloring (optional)

Cupcake How to

1. Preheat to 350. Line a muffin pan with liners
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
4. Beat in the apple sauce, then stir in the lime zest.
5. Add the cranberry juice, lime juice, triple sec, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
6. Sprinkle half of the flour ixture over the batter and mix until just combined. Stir in half of the milk, add the remaining flour, and then stir until combined. Stir in the remaining milk (add food coloring if desired) until just incorporated. (Do not overmix!)
7. Scoop 2 Tbsp of batter into each cupcakes liner. Bake 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Cosmopolitan Icing Ingredients  (how it's supposed to be, my additions not included)
1/4 c butter
4 c powdered sugar
1 Tbsp cranberry juice
2 tsp triple sec
1 Tbsp vodka
2  1/2 tsp lime juice
food coloring (optional)

Icing How to
1. In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth. Add 1 c of sugar and beat until combined.
2. Stir in creanberry juice until compined. Then add another cup of sugar and mix until combined.
3. Stir in the vodka and lime juice until ocmbined. Add another cup of sugar and mix well.
4. Finally, stir in the triple sec (and food coloring if desired) and then add remaining cup of sugar and beat until well combined and light and fluffy.
5. Frost cupcakes.