Mini Mojito Cupcakes
Signs of spring have begun to pop up in our yard. Tender little mint leaves have shown up and these cupcakes are the result. Fresh mint is the star of the show in these mini mojito cupcakes. It is the perfectly balanced with lime, is fresh, and not over whelming. A rum butter cake is topped with white chocolate rum buttercream and lime curd. Then, it is all topped with a lime mint sugar and fresh mint leaves.
“their popable size is great for snacking”
These cupcakes are the result of the freshly sprouted mint leaves that where about to take over one of our raised beds. I spent way too much time removing mint from the raised beds in our backyard this weekend. Do yourself (or the people who bought your house) a favor and don't plant mint in your raised beds. Mint will fill whatever space you plant it in and will take over other plants. Don’t get me wrong I love mint, I have 2 different varieties planted in pots, but a whole bed full of it is too much for anyone to use. Get a few different varieties and plant your mint in a container/planter.
I prefer my cupcakes mini sized, I also chose to pipe the lime curd into the frosting instead of filling the cupcake. This will keep more of your cake instead of removing the middle to fill with lime curd. You could also adjust the recipe to make about 2 dozen standard size cupcakes. Just use a standard cupcake pan and add 5-8 minutes to the baking time.
Mini Mojito Cupcakes with White Chocolate Rum Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Lime Curd Filling
Rum Butter Cake
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon white rum
1 1/3 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
Lime Curd
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons finely shredded lime peel
3 tablespoon lime juice
3 tablespoons water
3 beaten egg yolks
1/4 cup butter cut in to pieces
White Chocolate Rum Swiss Meringue Buttercream
1/2 cup white chocolate, melted
1 tablespoon white rum
pinch of salt
5 egg whites
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
*Fresh mint leaves and Lime Mint Sugar for sprinkling (recipe below)
Rum Butter Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line your mini cupcake pan with paper cups.
Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add rum until full combine.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add eggs to the butter mixture one at a time and beat until fully combine and the volume has increased. Then, alternatively add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture (beginning and ending with flour) and beat until just combined.
Spoon batter into the mini cupcake pan and fill 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Then, move to a wire rack to cool.
Lime Curd: In a medium saucepan stir together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice, and water. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Stir half of the lemon mixture into egg yolks. Return the egg yolk mixture to saucepan. Cook to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and cook and stir for 2 minutes more or until thickened. Remove from heat.
Add butter pieces, stirring until melted. Cover surface of curd with plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour for up to 48 hours.
White Chocolate Rum Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Add egg whites and sugar to a heatproof bowl and simmer over a pot of water, whisking constantly, until temperature reaches 160°F, or if you don't have a candy thermometer until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot.
Transfer the sugar mixture to the bowl of a stand mixture fitted with the whisk attachment, begin to whip until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the bowl feels neutral to the touch (this can take up to 10 minutes or so).
Once your meringue has reach stiff peaks and the bowl no longer feels warm, switch to the paddle attachment and, with mixer on low speed. Begin to add butter cubes, one at a time, until incorporated, and mix until it has reached a silky smooth texture.
While your buttercream mixes melt your white chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave in 15-30 second intervals. Set the melted chocolate aside and let cool slightly before adding to your buttercream.
Add melted white chocolate, rum and salt, continuing to beat on low speed until well combined.
If you find that the chocolate isn’t incorporating evenly into your buttercream it could be too cold and has harden before fully whipping to the buttercream. If this happens to you, remove a heaping spoon full of buttercream, place it in a small bowl and microwave for 10 seconds. Then, add the melted buttercream into the rest. This will gently warm the buttercream and help the chocolate incorporate.
Assembly:
Fill a pastry bag fitted with the pastry tip of your choice with the white chocolate rum buttercream.
Pipe a swirl of buttercream leaving room in the middle for the lime curd. Fill the buttercream withe lime curd. Then, top with lime mint sugar and fresh mint leaves.
makes approximately 4 dozen mini cupcakes
Lime Mint Sugar: add 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves and 1 teaspoon lime zest to the bowl of a food processor. Process the mixture until all of the mint leaves have been finely chopped. Use immediately, the green color will darken the longer it sits.
