MSC: Father's Day Tee-Time Cupcakes

This month's Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club pick was the Father's Day Tee-Time Cupcakes, chosen by Julie of Little Bit of Everything. I was eager to try my hand at something a bit different for this group: a project that focused on the cupcake's appearance, rather than the cupcake's taste or fun flavor. I knew my kids would be on board with this one, too!



For the cupcakes themselves, I tried a recipe that I've really been wanting to make for a long time. I found it a couple years ago in an issue of Cooking Light. It's a Coconut Cupcake with Lime Buttercream; yum! I just thought that sounded so summery and refreshing; plus, anything with lime automatically catches my eye. I tinted the lime buttercream frosting green, and decided to use that shade as my putting green surface, rather than covering the frosting in green sprinkles. I guess I figured my kids and I didn't really need a mouthful of sanding sugar in every bite!

My five year-old actually is frosting-averse, so he opted to decorate his with just some ground-up graham cracker crumbs (for the sand traps), some mini M&Ms (for the golf balls), and just a bit of green sanding sugar (to make some grass). I made my little flags by affixing some trimmed, bright orange Post-It notes to toothpicks; I thought it worked pretty well, although I did have to apply a bit of transparent tape to each to secure it.

This was a great way for me to spend an afternoon with my boys; they enjoyed the decorating, and eating the leftover decorations! As for the cupcakes themselves, it was a mixed bag. My husband and I thought they were delicious; I was so impressed with the texture of the cupcakes in particular. These are a lower fat version of a dessert, but they really don't taste like it. I think my substitution of coconut milk for skim milk in the recipe made the cakes a bit fluffier and lighter. Considering that some of the recipes from Martha's cupcake book have turned out denser and drier than I would have liked, this was a very nice surprise. If you like the lime/coconut flavor combination, I highly recommend these cupcakes. And I recommend the decorating idea if you need a tasty, fun way to spend an afternoon with kids! Thanks, Julie!

Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting
adapted from Cooking Light
makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
Cooking spray
4.5 oz. all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
3 Tbsp. potato starch (not potato flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2/3 cup light, unsweetened coconut milk
2 Tbsp. sweetened, flaked coconut
1/2 tsp. coconut extract

For the frosting:
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp. fresh lime zest
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. light, unsweetened coconut milk
4.75 oz. confectioners' sugar, sifted (about 1 1/3 cups)


Directions
Make the cupcakes: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners, then spray the liners with nonstick cooking spray. Set tin aside. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour and the next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

2. Combine the 2/3 sugar and the 2 Tbsp. butter in a large bowl; mix at medium speed until well-blended; mixture should be the consistency of damp sand. Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture and the coconut milk in three batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in coconut and coconut extract.

3. Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes, or until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched in the center. Cool in pan for 5 minutes; remove from tins onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting: 1. Combine the 3 Tbsp. butter, the lime zest and juice, and the coconut milk in a medium bowl; mix until well-blended and smooth. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, beating just until smooth. Frost each cupcake with about 2 1/2 tsp. frosting.

Key Lime Pie

Boy, do I love me some Key Lime Pie! I always have, as far back as I can remember. It may just be the only type of dessert that can sway me, at a restaurant, from ordering a chocolatey confection. And that is no small feat! I just love the puckery tang, the sweet, crumby graham cracker crust, and the perfect fluff of browned meringue on top.

So imagine my delight when I happened to stumble across a big package of fresh key limes in my local international foods market last weekend! I don't know if I've ever truly realized that key limes are so much tinier than regular Persian limes. I got about 2 lbs. of key limes for under 2 bucks, which I believe is a fair price although I wouldn't really know. It seemed good! I was eager to test them out. I've never made a from-scratch Key Lime Pie before, let alone with authentic key limes. But I set out to change that.

I debated for a bit about what type of crust I should do, and what type of topping I should do. I love the graham cracker crust, but I've also had Key Lime Pies with a more standard, not-too-sweet pie dough that I think is really good. I also considered a fresh whipped cream topping on this. In the end, the graham cracker/meringue combo won. I wasn't disappointed; it was a good choice!

One minor note I thought I would mention: it's very important to chill the finished pie after about an hour of cooling on the counter. I learned this the hard way! We had to leave the house right after this came out of the oven, and we didn't get back for about 4-5 hours. When we arrived home, the meringue had shriveled up and pulled away from the sides of the pan! It still tasted awesome, it just didn't look nearly as pretty as it did when it first came out of the oven (and fortunately many of my pictures were taken while it was still attractive!). So if you're serving this to company or just want your pie to remain beautiful, chill it for several hours before you enjoy it.

Key Lime Pie
adapted from United Cakes of America
makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
10 full sheets (5 oz.) graham crackers
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
6 Tbsp. granulated sugar, divided
1 (14-oz.) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs, yolks and whites separated (whites at room temperature)
2/3 cup fresh key lime juice
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Using a food processor or a Ziploc bag and a rolling pin, crush the graham crackers until they are fine crumbs. Add 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar and the melted butter to the graham crackers, tossing to coat crumbs with butter.

2. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper, spraying the pan with nonstick cooking spray both under and on top of the parchment. Press the graham cracker mixture into the prepared pan, making sure it is even. Bake on the center rack in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant. Set on a rack to cool.

3. Make the filling by whisking the egg yolks until well combined. Add in the condensed milk slowly, whisking the whole time. Slowly drizzle in the lime juice; the mixture will thicken as you whisk it. Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust.

4. Return the pie pan to the oven, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling is just set and no longer jiggly. Remove the pan from the oven, return it to the rack, and allow it to cool.

5. Make the meringue by setting the egg whites and the cream of tartar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk the whites at a medium speed until they form soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 4 Tbsp. sugar, one Tbsp. at a time, and continue whisking the whites at medium-high speed. Once the whites have formed stiff peaks, stop the mixer.

6. Crank up the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the meringue onto the cooled pie, ensuring the entire surface is covered and the meringue seals the edges. If desired, fluff the meringue into little peaks or other designs on top. Return the pie to the oven and bake for an additional 5-6 minutes, just until the meringue is browned on top, making sure not to over-brown. Allow the pie to cool at room temperature for about 1 hour, then put it in the refrigerator for at least another 3 hours before serving.

Key Lime Bars

Some of my best summer dessert memories involve key lime pie. I just love the stuff. Normally, I'll go for the decadent, chocolatey desserts when given a choice. But key lime is one of the few fruity flavors I can never pass up. And to me, the pairing of tart, creamy key lime pie filling and a graham cracker crust is darn near perfect.



I wanted to provide something sweet for a potluck lunch Andy was having at work. I needed it to be something I could whip together quickly and easily. I bought way too many limes last week (though, sadly, they were not key limes) and inspiration hit me. A key lime pie bar! That would fit the bill wonderfully! I remembered that Martha Stewart's Cookies book had a bar cookie recipe that I wanted an excuse to make. Now was my chance.



I was very grateful for the ease of this recipe. The hardest part was separating the three eggs; I messed up and added an egg white to my already separated egg yolks. Oops! And the yolks already had the fresh lime zest added to it; double oops! So I had to toss the bowl of yolks and zest and start over again. Besides that little hiccup in the works, everything was smooth sailing. A quick graham cracker crust is baked, then cooled. Next, you pour a mixture of egg yolks, lime zest, sweetened condensed milk, and fresh lime juice on top of the crust and put the whole thing back into the oven. It bakes for another 10 minutes, and then it is cooled and chilled in the refrigerator. After that, you're ready to cut and serve!

We cut ours into 24 bars, even though Martha says you can cut 18 bars. The 24 bars seemed like they were a good size for a potluck, whereas the 18 bars would probably be better for a situation where you were only serving the bars for dessert after a dinner or something. Martha's bars were garnished with some freshly whipped cream and thin lime slices, but we just served ours plain. They were a hit at the lunch just the way they were, but I would like to serve them by the book next time; they'll be a bit prettier that way!

Key Lime Bars (or just plain Lime Bars!)

adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies

makes 18-24 bars, depending on the size of your slices

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 cup plus 2 1/2 Tbsp. finely ground graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup sugar

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

3 large egg yolks

1 1/2 tsp. finely grated lime zest

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice (I used regular limes, about 4)

For the garnish:

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 Key limes, thinly sliced into half-moons

Directions:

For the crust: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press evenly onto bottom of an 8-inch square glass baking pan. (I don't have a glass square baking pan, so I used a foil-lined metal baking pan, and it was fine.) Bake until dry and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

For the filling: 1. Put egg yolks and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add condensed milk in a slow, steady stream, mixing constantly. Raise speed to high; mix until thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add lime juice; mix until just combined.

Assemble bars: 1. Spread filling evenly over crust using a spatula. Bake, rotating halfway through, until filling is just set, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Make garnish: 1. Cut 18 or 24 lime bars. Put cream in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Garnish bars with whipped cream and a slice of lime. Ungarnished bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Honey Lime Oat Muffins

This is one recipe that I probably should have posted a long time ago. I've been making these muffins for about two years now; they were the first muffins Xander ever tried. He usually wouldn't eat muffins because they tended to have chunks of fruit (like blueberry or raspberry, etc.) in them, and he's totally weird about chunks being in his muffins. Okay, if we're being honest here, he gets that weird chunk trait from me. But I am getting better with it, really! Him, on the other hand...well, we're still working on it.

So these muffins are great because they do not contain chunkiness, unless you count the oats, which are softened before going into the batter. I love how healthy these are. I like to use some whole-wheat flour as well as all-purpose, to give it a sturdier texture. The oats are fantastic in the muffin, too, because they really add substance to something which sometimes isn't the most filling food in the world. I mean, I love muffins as much as the next baker, which can be a problem sometimes when one muffin can be a caloric nightmare. Let alone two in one sitting, or three, or...you get the point. But these muffins are delicious and nutritious. Win-win!

The best part of all, though, is how crowd-pleasing they are. As I said, these were the first muffins Xander would ever eat, and now Evan loves them, although he's more of a muffin connoisseur than Xander was at his age. He's not nearly as picky; if it's been baked from scratch, he'll pretty much eat it! Bless him. If food is love, then he's been showered with love by me lately.

The kids like them plain, and they are wonderful that way. You can really taste the honey, as well as the little flecks of lime zest that dot the whole muffin. The whole-wheat flour is present, but not overwhelmingly noticeable, and they are moist despite the lack of fat in the recipe. Using yogurt in muffins is genius; it really keeps them healthy, yet the texture is still that of a muffin. You know, instead of a rock or something.

What really takes them over the top, though, if you are so inclined, is the lime glaze. It is so simple; it's just a powdered sugar glaze with lime zest and lime juice. I dipped the tops of a couple while they were still warm, and just let the glaze harden before we ate them. It drips down the sides before it sets, and just gives it an extra citrus-y punch that is irresistible. Yum!

This method doesn't work so well if you are planning to make the muffins ahead of time, though. That's why, most of the time, I forgo it. Once the muffins have been pre-glazed, they begin to very slowly soak up the glaze. By the next day, the tops of the muffins are wet and shiny, and you can no longer distinctly taste the glaze. Not that this is not tasty, but it totally ruins the effect! So I recommend saving the glaze for special occasions, or company.

Honey Lime Oat Muffins

adapted from Recipezaar

makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

For the Muffins:

1 cup plain yogurt (I used non-fat)

1 cup old-fashioned oats (not instant)

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp. butter, melted (Smart Balance 50/50 Blend works fine, too)

2 tsp. lime zest (I zest 1 whole lime)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat or whole-wheat pastry flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

For the Glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

4 tsp. lime juice

1 tsp. lime zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Combine oats, yogurt, honey, milk, butter, and lime zest in a large bowl. Mix well and let sit for at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine all the remaining muffin ingredients except for the egg whites, mixing well.

3. Stir egg whites into yogurt mixture, mixing well. Add flour mixture to yogurt mixture; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Divide batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.

4. Bake for 20-24 minutes (I actually bake for 22), until light golden-brown on top. Let muffins cool slightly, about 10 minutes, and then turn them out onto a cooling rack.

5. While the muffins are cooling for 10 minutes, prepare glaze: combine powdered sugar, lime juice, and lime zest with a whisk, until sugar is dissolved and all ingredients are well combined.

6. Dip muffin tops in glaze, and allow the glaze to harden slightly before serving.