Key Lime Pie…Cupcakes?
Yep, that’s right.
But that’s to be expected, you see.
I am honored to have Miss Thang herself, Clara of I Heart Cuppycakes Guest Blogging here today. And what would you THINK she would make? Bon bons? Of course not.
Kids…if you don’t know Clara, you are in for a real treat. And not just the Key Lime variety.
Take it away, CB.
WARNING: Nerd Alert! Nerd Alert!
Did you know that this Sunday is March 14th? I see you look confused. Not catching on yet, huh? Come on! March 14th … 3.14. Get it? PI. You know? The ratio of a circle’s area to the square of its radius. I thought everyone knew that.
What about to the 50th decimal?
I do.
3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510
Wait wait. Don’t leave! I promise I have a point.
But I know I can’t be the only one excited about this? There’s gotta be some other nerd science bakers out there. No. Ok fine. It’s just me. Well I don’t know about you but I have to celebrate with … a pie of course!
I knew as soon as Susan of DoughMESStic contacted me about guest blogging on her blog, I had to make a pie. Susan’s kind of a pie person. She even started a pie inspired group, You Want Pies With That, has won awards for her pies and has more than just a couple pie recipes on her blog. Me? I like pies but I’m not a pie person. Pies don’t have frosting. So what’s the point? Since I’m a cupcake person, I couldn’t just do any ‘ol pie. I had to do a Giant Cup-Pie. Huh? Huh?
*reader groans*
Dude. That is totally funny. Man! Rough crowd tonight.
Happy (early) PI Day, Readers.
Hope my Graham Cracker Key Lime Cup-Pie inspires you to bake this Sunday.
Don’t just stand here. Come to the nerd side. We have pi.
Key Lime Cup-pie
Recipe adapted from Cupcake Bakeshop and King Arthur Flour
INGREDIENTS
For the graham cracker crust*
2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
* You may not use all the graham cracker crust depending on how thick you make it.
For graham cracker cupcake
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk (I used half-and-half instead)
1 teaspoon vanilla
For key lime filling**
8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used Neufchatel instead)
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup key lime juice (I used Stirrings 100% Key Lime Juice)
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
** You can probably half the key lime filling but I found it easier to make the full recipe at the time.
For the meringue
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
To make filling:
In a stand mixer, fitted with a flat beater, beat the cream cheese on medium until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add condensed milk and mix to combine. Reduce speed to low and add key lime juice. Then add sour cream and mix until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. While you’re waiting, bake up the cupcakes!
To make giant cupcake:
Preheat oven to 350F. Create a foil liner (I recommend Reynolds non-stick foil) for the cupcake “bottom” and lightly spray with PAM.
In a separate bowl, combine 2 cup of graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Spoon into the giant cupcake “bottom”, pressing with a class cup to cover the bottom and sides. Set aside.
Whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
In stand mixer, fitted with a flat beater, beat butter on high speed until soft, about 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Combine milk and vanilla together. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk mixture in 2 additions, ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.
Fill cupcake bottom with the cake batter. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before fill and frost.
To make meringue:
In a stand mixer with a clean dry mixer bowl and whisk attachment, whip the egg whites at medium speed until opaque. With the mixer still running, add the vanilla extract and sugar in a slow stream and continue to beat until the whites are glossy and form firm peaks.
To assemble giant cup-pie:
Remove center of the cupcake using the cone method. (I like to use cookie cutter for a guide line.) If you aren’t familiar with the cone method, check out Nicole of Baking Bites step-by-step pictorial instructions (here). Fill cupcake with key lime filling using a spoon. Reserve some meringue in a piping bag + Wilton 1M tip (or your favorite star tip). Spread the meringue on top of the cupcake. Use the back of a spoon to create peaks and then pipe rosettes around the edge of the cupcake. Use a creme brulee torch to brown the meringue. Garnish with a few lime slices and graham cracker crumbs.
ENJOY!
Click here for Printable recipe created by CB ©http://iheartcuppycakes.com
