Margarita Cupcakes
These margarita cupcakes are simple vanilla cakes infused with lime and tequila, brushed with more tequila, and topped with a tequila lime buttercream frosting.
You know what holiday is right around the corner, right? Every food-lover’s dream: Cinco de Mayo!
The one day a year when we can stuff ourselves full of chips, salsa, guacamole and margaritas… It’s a little bit of a foodie nirvana.
Of course there is historical significance to the day (it commemorates the Mexican Army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862) and in Mexico, the day is ceremonial in nature. In the U.S., it has become a celebration of Mexican-American culture and like most holidays that celebrate a heritage, people enjoy celebrating Cinco de Mayo with authentic food and drink. Since margaritas are a classic Mexican cocktail, it stands to reason that you should wash down your Mexican feast with these margarita cupcakes!
Tequila and lime? Check!
I first made these cupcakes a long, long, loooooong time ago, and at the time all I could find online were margarita cupcake recipes using a box cake mix. It wasn’t really what I had in mind, but after some more digging, I found a recipe from The Brewer & The Baker for margarita cupcakes from scratch. Bingo!
Except for two things: there wasn’t any tequila actually in the cupcakes, and the frosting was a Swiss meringue buttercream (I didn’t think margarita cupcakes really necessitated all the fuss that goes into a Swiss meringue buttercream – can you tell I’m ridiculously low maintenance?).
I adapted the cupcake recipe to amp up the liquor quotient by adding tequila into the cupcakes as well as brushing tequila onto the cupcakes after they were done baking. Mucho tequila = muy bueno. (I took 7 years of Spanish, I should put it to a little use!) Then I adapted my absolute favorite basic vanilla frosting to include lime juice and tequila, and voilà! Verrrrrrry boozy cocktail cupcakes! I really don’t think the brand of tequila matters much – use whatever you keep at home, just be sure that it is white or silver tequila, not gold. I’ve made these with Patron and Jose Cuervo (pictured above) and both are delicious!
(If you would prefer to make your margarita cupcakes without tequila or alcohol at all, simply omit it from the recipe. I would add 1 tablespoon vanilla extract to the frosting in its place.)
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address, and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
They look so innocent, don’t they? Sitting there all pretty with lime zest laying like a feather on buttery pillows of frosting.
They are definitely not innocent. They are all things tequila and lime. The cupcakes are buttery and moist. The frosting is velvety and buttery (more butter!). And there is a prevalent lime/tequila taste throughout. They are a Cinco de Mayo dream. If you like margaritas (or just boozy cupcakes), you will fall in love with these babies. And they’re perfect for toting along to picnics and cook-outs all summer long!
My husband, mom, and in-laws all proclaimed that these are the best cupcakes I’ve ever made. SO… there you go!
One year ago: Creamy Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese
Four years ago: Black and White Cookies
Watch How to Make Margarita Cupcakes:
Margarita Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1½ (1.5) limes, zested and juiced
- 2 tablespoons tequila
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk
To Brush the Cupcakes
- 1 to 2 tablespoons tequila
For the Tequila-Lime Frosting
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2¾ cups (330 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons tequila
- Pinch of coarse salt
Instructions
- Make the Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- Using 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 at time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract 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 low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating 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 until the cupcakes are light golden brown on top and a skewer inserted in the center has moist crumbs attached, about 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
- Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, and then remove to a cooling rack. Brush the tops of the cupcakes with the 1 to 2 tablespoons of tequila. Set the cupcakes aside to cool completely before frosting them.
- Make the Frosting: Whip the butter on medium-high speed of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated. Increase speed to medium and mix for 30 seconds. Add the lime juice, tequila and salt, and beat 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.
Notes
- If you would prefer to not use liquor in these cupcakes, you can absolutely omit it from both the cupcakes and the frosting with no problem. If you do omit it, I would add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract to the frosting.
- I used a Wilton 1M tip to frost the cupcakes.
- You can use whatever tequila you keep on hand; I’ve made them with both Patron and Jose Cuervo. You will want to use white or silver tequila, not gold.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on May 5, 2011.
I love these cupcakes. Chocolate is usually my favorite but I would choose these over chocolate everytime.
Is it possible to use a handheld mixer for the batter and the frosting? I don’t own a stand mixer but would still like to try these!
Hi Katie, Absolutely! Enjoy the cupcakes!
I made them to bring to a party at the last minute, and they did not disappoint. Didn’t have buttermilk, so I used 3 parts greek yogurt to one part milk instead, and these suckers came out hella moist. Not too sweet, either. This recipe is a winner.
These were seriously the best things I’ve ever tasted! Made them for our daughter’s 21st birthday. They were a hit!
Can I use this recipe for a 10 x 2 round pan? If not, how much will I need to make that size?
I’ve made them as cupcakes using your recipe and they are so moist and deliscious!!
Thank you!! Though I did take a few shots as baking (just making sure the tequilla was good)!!
Hi there, If you make one single layer, then yes, you could use this for a 10×2-inch round pan. If you want to make two layers, you will need to double the recipe.
Amazing! They came out perfect!
I made these cupcakes but did not use liquor (requested by my client) and oh man were these delicious. I am definitely making them for my birthday coming up to go with a patron bottle cake! I cant wait!!
Totally thinking about making these for my friend’s 21st birthday next week!!
How many mini cupcakes does this recipe make?
Hi Jen, About 24.
Made these this past week for my boyfriend’s dad’s birthday, only I substituted cachaça for the tequila, omitted the salt in the icing, and made them caipirinha cupcakes instead. They were a huge hit! Everyone loved the moisture of the cupcake and the tanginess of the icing.
I’m taking these to a family gathering where there will be lots of kids. Think the tequila in the cupcakes will be OK because the alcohol should bake off but I should probably make the frosting a little more benign. I might get in a wee bit of trouble if I get the kiddies all drunk on frosting.
What liquid could I substitute for the tequila?
Hi Rachel, You don’t need anything in particular, but could use a splash or two of heavy cream if the frosting is a bit stiff without the tequila.
if I omit the tequila from the cake do i need to add more buttermilk?
Hi Sam, I would not add more buttermilk, but if you are just looking for a vanilla cupcake with lime zest, then I would recommend this cupcake recipe (without the sprinkles, of course): https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2014/03/06/homemade-funfetti-cupcakes-from-scratch/
These cupcakes look absolutely delicious. I would love to feature this recipe in an article about margarita recipes. Would you allow me to republish one photo with a link back to the original recipe?
Hi Jessica, Thanks for asking, and yes, that would be fine.
Hi Michelle, I love this recipe and plan to try it this weekend. My dilemma is that I’ve never been a fan of butter cream frosting, but I love whipped cream frosting. Do you think a whipped cream frosting would work well? If so do you have any suggestions on how I should go about preparing it with the Patron incorporated into it?
Hi Candy, That will work, just know that a true whipped cream frosting will need to be served and eaten within a day of frosting them (the same day, preferably). You can add the patron just as you would vanilla extract.
I just made these a few minutes ago and they’re amazing! The cupcakes are moist and so buttery. They’re the perfect mix of sweet and tart (courtesy of the lime juice) and oh boy, the patron just hits you like a ninja!
I’ve made these before, and they were FANTASTIC. I’ve been asked to bring them to an upcoming gathering, but as there will only be a handful of people there, I don’t want to make the whole batch. Do you think this recipe would be ok cut in half? I know some recipes don’t take kindly to doubling or halving.
Hi Kerry, So glad you love these! I haven’t tried scaling these down, so I can’t say for sure how they will turn out.
These are amazing! I made them for my boyfriends 40th. We both can’t eat dairy so I replaced the butter with soy butter and the buttermilk with soy yogurt and vinegar and they we delish! I had to add more powder sugar for the frosting because it was a little runny. I will 1,00% use this again! Thanks for sharing!
I made these for my mother’s birthday and they were so delicious!!!!
Made these for a bake sale at my company tonight (I’m sure its going to be a big hit)! The tequila is very subtle in the frosting its great! I would suggest doing an alternate frosting than the powdered sugar, only because the texture is more gritty than I’d prefer. I’m about ready to frost them and add a little zest to the top of these babies, maybe a TINY dash of salt. Great recipe, the cake turned out perfect!
Hello, I made these cupcakes for work on Cinco De Mayo. Due to it being Work, I minimized the amount of Tequila in the recipe. I only added Tequila to the cupcake batter. I also don’t care very much for lime, so I only used that in the batter as well. Once they were cooled, I tried one of the cupcakes. You could definitely taste the Tequila, but the lime was very powerful as well. I wanted the frosting to balance it out, so I just made a traditional vanilla buttercream with lime zest sprinkled on top and it was perfect! I got rave reviews from my co-workers!
I did have one issue with my cake. I was a bonehead and threw the eggs in the mixer with the butter (instead of the sugar). So I dumped it and started over. Due to time constraints, I couldn’t wait for the eggs to get to room temp. When the cupcakes cooled, I noticed that some had kind of crunchy tops and all of them were pulling away from the wrapper. Could either of these be the result of using cold eggs? Thanks for another great recipe!
INCREDIBLE…Amazing cupcakes *.*
First time I’ve ever made cupcakes not from a box and these made me look like a pro! An instant favorite. Next, I tried the Irish Carbomb cupcake recipe with equal success! These were so yummy, I’m looking forward to more.
I made these cupcakes for a farewell party at my office. You would’ve thought is was happy hour. I loved them!!! Great recipe and very easy!!!
I have made these a couple of times and they are amazing! Is it possible to make them and frost them the night before I plan to serve the cupcakes? Can I make the cupcakes the night before and put the tequila on them and then frost them the next day or should I make them with the frosting and store them in the fridge?
Hi Beverly, You can frost them the night before and store them in an airtight container at room temperature. No need to refrigerate them.
I was just woundering what kind of salt did you use? Is the margarita salt ok to use or regular?
Hi Maria, For the cupcakes themselves I used table salt. For sprinkling on the frosting, I used fleur de sel. You could also use margarita salt.
I was able to fill these a little less to make 24 cupcakes….room for more frosting! I also used a tequila glaze instead of brushing with plain tequila…and used sea salt and course sugar mix to sprinkle on the edges…delicious!!!
I just made these. I followed the recipe exactly and they were absolutely delicious!!
Made these for Cinco De Mayo surprise party this past weekend. The cupcake itself was really good. I made the frosting and it was a bit too bumpy. Not as smooth as I would have like it or as firm. But everyone who had one seemed to like it. It for sure tastes like a margarita!
Glad I got to try the recipe but I probably wont make it again unless I use a different frosting recipe that holds up.
Just want to say this is my third year in a row making these cupcakes and they are always amazing! Favorite cupcake recipe I’ve ever made. I remade them once with orange vodka, grand marnier, and orange juice/zest for an orange flavored cupcake at a different time of the year.
Thanks, they were a hit….