Mojito cupcake recipe

Mojito cupcakes!! Say whhhhaaatt? Yes you heard right, alcohol and cupcakes in one! Amazing… Here’s a delicious Mojito cupcake recipe just for you!

As you can tell I am a little bit excited to share this cupcake recipe as they are to-die-for!

These cupcakes are light, moist and have a fantastic taste combination of lime and mint, with a subtle undertone of rum throughout the cupcake and buttercream. The flavors really remind me of what an excellent mojito tastes like and reflect the freshness and yumminess they should always have. They’re not too minty or overpowering, which makes them perfect for any celebration.

I’ve created a few batches of these now for hen parties and 18th birthday celebrations and they are always a fantastic way to really get the party started.  You can taste every single flavour; the mint, the rum, the sweet fresh zing in your mouth! Literally it’s the cupcake that provides a little party in your mouth.

Love em! Sorry for the cheesy start to this post, I’ll move on! 😉

So as you may be aware I really try to stay away from any additives or unnatural flavourings in my baking. I love to use fresh, real ingredients. So that means finding the right quantities and measurements which meant baking these cupcakes took a couple of attempts! Some were too minty, some had no rum taste and some were just a bit too green! Not attractive… But, this recipe, if followed correctly will provide a perfect batch so it is really important to stick to the quantities.  They do take a little bit more effort than your standard vanilla cupcake but don’t worry, it’s all fun and you get to learn how to make and infuse a syrup which can be adapted for lots of other recipes too.

Prep: 45 minutes
Bake: 25 minutes
Serves: 12 (and sometimes more)
Skill level: Easy-peasy

Ingredients for the cupcakes

1. 180g un-salted butter (at room temperature, I prefer Lurpak but Stork for Baking is also good)
2. 180g golden caster sugar
3. 180g self-raising flour (I prefer McDougalls)
4. 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
5. 1 tsp. of vanilla bean paste (extract will work fine too)
6. 1/2 tsp of mint extract
7. Juice and zest of 2 limes
8. 1 large dollop of buttermilk (TIP: If you can’t find buttermilk add 1tbsp lemon juice to 110ml of milk and leave to stand for 10 mins)
9. 1 pinch of salt
10. 1 tsp of rum
11. a very small speck of green food colouring – I prefer to use Sugarflair mint green and add gradually with a tooth pick

Ingredients for the syrup

1. 60g demerara sugar
2. 20ml water
3. 60ml of rum
4. 8 mint leaves

Ingredients for the buttercream

1. 250g of unsalted butter (Lurpak again is my preference)
2. 250g of icing sugar
3. 1tsp of vanilla bean paste
4. 2tsp of lime juice
5. zest of 1 lime
6. 1 tsp of rum
7. 10 mint leaves finely chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 155°C/315°F/Gas Mark 3 and line a cupcake tray with 12 cases. (I always use really good quality cases to avoid peeling or foil ones are fab too)

2. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy then add the eggs one at a time beating again. (Using a stand mixer or hand mixing this recipe are both fine)

3. Add the vanilla bean-paste, salt, rum, lime zest and juice and slowly mix in. Don’t worry if the batter splits or looks curdles it will come back when you add the flour. Add the green food colouring (if you want the cakes green too), mint then 1/3 of the flour and buttermilk, beat together then add the another third then the other, beating in between each addition until just combined and smooth.  Be careful not to overbeat, stop as soon as the mixture is combined.

4. Add to the cupcake cases (I prefer to use a scoop for consistency and ease) and bake for 25 minutes (or until light and fluffy to touch, every oven varies slightly). Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack for cooling.

5. To make the syrup: add all the ingredients to a small pan and simmer on the hob until all the sugar has dissolved and leave to cool slightly. When the cupcakes are cool, using a cocktail stick make tiny holes in the cupcakes,  but don’t push all the way down though as the syrup could make the papers peel. Spoon one teaspoon of syrup over the holes on each cupcake.

6. To make the buttercream: add all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix until smooth. Don’t overbeat the icing or it will become runny. Add to a large piping bag using your preferred nozzle (mine is a Wilton 1M) and pipe a plain swirl on the top. Decorate the cakes with sprigs of mint, slices of lime & zest, cute straws and umbrellas.

Enjoy!