Cherry Limeade Cupcakes and exciting news

First the exciting news! I am going to be a Good Mom again. The Good Fetus is due at the end of July. 

So to commemorate the growth of TGF, I thought I would make some pregnancy cupcakes to honor the little parasite currently sucking out all my nutrients. At 11 weeks, the fetus is the size of a lime. The only lime flavored thing I really wanted was a margarita and frankly, I get funny looks when I drink in public while pregnant. So I decided to make the next best thing - cherry limeade cupcakes.

A lot of the recipes I found called for a shitton of sugar. Aside from the fact that all that sugar will kill my diabetic ass, I just don't like my cupcakes to be super sweet. I modified the sugar content in the recipe and it made for a tart, lime heavy cupcake with an accent of sweet cherry. The reviews were mixed. Some people loved them and some thought they were a little too tart. (I ate two cupcakes and thought they were a nice balance of sweet and tart, but since I can't eat them all, I gave the rest to family and neighbors.)

 So change the sugar content according to your taste.

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:

3 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoon limeade concentrate

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

For the lime syrup:

3/4 cup limeade concentrate

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the frosting:

3 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 teaspoon (or more) maraschino cherry juice

For decorating:

fresh lime slices

maraschino cherries

Directions:
To make the cupcakes:

~Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line two muffin pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl sift together the cake flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the limeade concentrate and vanilla extract and mix to combine.  Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions.  Add in the flour mixture in thirds along with the milk.  Mix until combined. Do not overmix.

~Fill each cupake 3/4 of the way full.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack over wax paper to cool completely.

~When the cupcakes have cooled slightly, whisk together the limeade concentrate and confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl to make the lime syrup.  Brush syrup over the top of the slightly warm cupcakes, allowing the syrup to soak in. Repeat until the syrup is gone.

To make the frosting:

~Combine the confectioners’ sugar, butter, vanilla extract and maraschino cherry juice in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated, then increase to medium-high speed and beat until smooth.  Add more maraschino cherry juice as needed to achieve desired texture.

~Frost cooled cupcakes.  Garnish with lime slices and maraschino cherries, if desired.

recipe modified from: Annie's Eats