Until a couple of years ago, I was totally oblivious to the whole Cinco de Mayo festivities. In most parts of Mexico, it is a day like any other, no big deal. Children in Primary Schools mark the day with a ceremony and secondary schools across the country would have a mention of the day or an assembly, but all in all, it was to me a pretty obscure date on our civic calendar. A couple of years ago I started getting 'happy Cinco de Mayo' cards on the post from my American friends, and that got me thinking... first I was a little annoyed, then I was amused, then I was touched and this year I gave in and actually posted a couple Happy Cinco de Mayos myself. I even went to a Cinco de Mayo party here in Dublin!
When thinking on what to bring to the hostess of the party, I did a bit of research and found a recipe for Corona Beer Cupcakes that sounded and looked delicious. Needless to say they were a smash hit in the party and they tasted and looked fab too. Totally recommend them. The plan is to use an Irish craft beer to make another batch soon, but in the meantime, here are the ones I made with Corona Beer. The recipe came from a blog called Erika's Sweet Tooth which in turn was adapted by a blog called Miss Make, which sadly is no longer active. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
Preheat the oven at 190° Celsious and line a 24 muffing tin with cupcake cases. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a jug, combine the beer and milk and set aside too.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together for 2 to 3 minutes until they are light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well between additions. Add the vanilla essence and lemon zest and mix well.
Add a third of the dry ingredients to the batter and while whisking at low speed, pour half of the beer and milk liquid. Whisk until all ingredients are incorporated. Repeat this step again. Finish up by adding the last third of the flour and whisk until your batter is all combined.
Fill the cupcake liners two thirds full and bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. This cupcakes are not suppose to be too brown, so don't worry if they look a bit pale. When they are done, take them out of the oven.
While they are still hot, make a few holes all over the top of the cupcake with a toothpick. Then, using a pastry brush, varnish the top of the cupcakes generously with the extra 1/4 cup of beer from the ingredients. This will flavour the cupcakes even more and keep them moist for longer. Once varnished, they can be let cool down on a wire rack. While they cool, prepare the lime cheese icing.
The Lime Cheese Icing is very easy to make. Cream the cheese and butter together with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the lime juice and zest and gradually add the icing sugar while constantly whisking/mixing until all ingredients are well combined, about 2 minutes. Your icing is ready!
Once the cupcakes are completely cold (please don't attempt decorating them until they are cold or the icing will melt). Put the icing on a piping bag and decorate them using a big decorating tip. Dust them with extra lime zest and lime wedges to make them look pretty!
These cupcakes are very tasty and easy enough to make. They last a couple of days in an airtight container, but honestly, when I make them at home, they're all gone in an afternoon! They are a nice grown up treat and they look great too. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
