Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes are excellent sweet and boozy desserts, suited for picnics or just a casual afternoon snack.
Many prepare these tequila-infused cupcakes to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but honestly, they go well with pretty much any occasion there is, especially during the summer.
If you love Margarita Cookies, these cupcakes will surely suit your palate!
Partner strawberry margarita cupcakes with Blackberry Margarita for a perfect boozy-berry unwinding session!
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Can You Drive After Eating Margarita Cupcakes?
While these Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes won’t necessarily make you drunk after a piece or two, it’s still worth noting that they do contain tequila. That said, it’s not recommended to drive immediately after indulging in these sweet, boozy treats.
However, if you absolutely must do so, wait an hour or two after eating this dessert before you drive. After all, that’s the average time it takes for our bodies to metabolize a small shot of liquor, which is less than what you’ll ingest when eating one margarita cupcake.
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Apart from their amazing taste, there’s so much more to love about Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes. They’re absolutely must-have treats at parties!
- They’re ready in under 45 minutes, making it a great no-brainer dessert for any occasion.
- Despite being easy to make, these cupcakes look fancy and look great in pictures.
- You can decorate these cupcakes as you please, making them very easy to customize according to your party’s theme.
- They’re perfect for your friends with low alcohol tolerance who don’t want to miss out completely on alcohol.
Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes are just as good and easy to make as champagne cupcakes. You can even serve them together to offer your guests cupcake flavor variations to enjoy the subtle bliss that alcohol brings!
🥘 Ingredients
This recipe calls for common ingredients, so even non-bakers can easily spot them in the grocery aisles.
- Strawberry: Fresh and frozen ones will work, but if you want the strawberry flavor to stand out, opt for the fresh ones.
- Strawberry flavoring: This gives your cupcakes better color and a more prominent strawberry flavor.
- Unsalted sweet cream butter: Use at room temperature to add richness and moisture to your cupcakes.
- Lime juice: Of course, it won’t be a true margarita-style cupcake without the tanginess of citrus. For the best margarita-like freshness, be sure to squeeze fresh lime.
- Tequila: The centerpiece of this recipe. You can use your favorite tequila.
- Powdered sugar: AKA confectioners’ sugar, which is used to make the frosting.
See the recipe card for quantities.
🔀 Substitutions
Sweet cream butter: If you can’t find this specific butter, any unsalted butter will work.
Strawberry flavoring: You can use strawberry syrup if you don’t have strawberry flavoring or extract. The best part about strawberry syrup is that you can easily make it at home by simmering sugar, water, and fresh strawberries together.
🌈 Variations / Options / Add-Ins
One of the best aspects about these Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes is their customizability.
Here are some fun ways to modify this classic recipe to suit your preferences or accommodate your guests better.
- Nonalcoholic version: If you have kids around, you can create a non-alcoholic version by totally omitting the tequila and adding more lime juice. Just be careful not to accidentally mix up the non-alcoholic cupcakes with the alcoholic ones.
- Add more berries: To make your cupcakes fancier, you could also incorporate blueberries and raspberries to your frosting along with the strawberries.
- Vegan: Since these cupcakes are fruit-based, making them vegan-friendly is easy. Simply use vegan butter and strawberry flavoring, and your margarita cupcakes will be a nice treat for your vegan friends.
If you have extra berries and some space on the party’s dessert table left, consider making this healthy fruit berry salad as well!
🥄 Equipment Needed / Helpful Tools
Most of the equipment you’ll need to prepare this cupcake recipe will be common cooking tools. However, I’d like to share some optional but extremely helpful equipment.
- Piping bag with a star tip: These tools make it super easy to frost your cupcakes.
- BBQ sauce brush: You’ll need this to cover the top of your cupcakes with tequila.
- Standing mixer: This will make your frosting light and fluffy.
Ready to serve lovely Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes on the table in less than an hour? Follow these simple steps that even beginners can’t fail at.
Step 1: Pre-heat your oven
Setting your oven to 350 degrees F is always the sweet spot when baking cupcakes. Don’t skip this step to ensure your cupcakes cook evenly.
Step 2: Prepare your dry ingredients
Sift your all-purpose flour into a bowl. Then, add the rest of your dry ingredients, including the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk these ingredients together until well combined, and then set aside.
Step 3: Combine your wet ingredients
In a separate mixing bowl, combine your wet ingredients, including your fresh or thawed frozen strawberries. Mix these ingredients together for at least 2 minutes to achieve a smooth and even consistency.
Step 4: Combine the two mixes
Slowly incorporate your mixed dry ingredients into your wet mixture while continuously stirring. Make sure there are no clumps before proceeding to the next step.
Step 5: Prepare to bake
Place your cupcake liners into the cupcake pan. Then, using the cake mixture, fill each cupcake liner up to ¾ full. Don’t overfill the liners, as your cupcakes will need room to rise.
To simplify this process, I recommend using an ice cream scoop to add the same amount of cake batter to your cupcake liners each time.
Step 6: It’s baking time
Bake your filled cupcake pan for about 21 minutes. When unsure whether your cupcakes are fully cooked, you can perform the toothpick test. Simply insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake, and you’ll know that your batch is ready when the toothpick comes out clean.
Let your cupcakes cool before you proceed.
Step 7: Top the cupcakes with tequila
Poke holes into your cupcakes using a toothpick. Then, using a BBQ sauce brush or by dipping your baked goods into a tequila-filled bowl, thinly cover the top of your cupcakes with tequila.
Step 8: Prepare the frosting
In a standing mixer, add the prepared powdered sugar, butter, 1 capful of tequila, and lime juice. Set your mixer to low speed and gradually increase it to medium as the mixture evens outs. Continue mixing until your frosting comes out light and fluffy.
Step 9: Frost and garnish
Feel free to add as much or as little frosting as you desire to your cupcakes. And, of course, you can be as creative as you want when garnishing them.
Start off by adding a strawberry and lime slice to each cupcake, and incorporate additional toppings as you see fit!
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
You can serve this margarita-like dessert with an actual strawberry lemonade margarita, along with strawberry poke cake for an eye-catching strawberry-themed food party.
❓ Recipe FAQs
To make your cupcakes rise perfectly, only fill your liner to about ⅔ full to give your cupcake room to rise. You should also avoid overmixing your batter and make sure your leavening agent isn’t expired.
Cupcakes generally last for about 3 days max at room temperature. However, for cupcakes with perishable toppings like fresh fruits, it’s best to keep them refrigerated at all times to avoid spoiling and maintain their quality.
The recommended cooling time for cupcakes before frosting is 1 to 2 hours. Applying frosting on a warm cupcake will melt your topping, likely causing it to slide off.
🙏 Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes:
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📋 Recipe
Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted sweet cream butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 tablespoon Tequila
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup finely chopped strawberries
- 2 teaspoons strawberry flavoring
Frosting
- 1 cup sweet cream butter unsalted softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 cap full of tequila
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sift flour in a large mixing bowl.
- Add baking powder, baking soda and salt to the flour and whisk together. Place to the side.
- Add all wet ingredients, including strawberries, in a large mixing bowl for 2 minutes until blended well.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients together and mix well.
- Place cupcake liners in the cupcake pan and fill each cupcake liner ¾ full with cake mixture.
- Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 21 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool for several minutes.
- Once cooled, poke holes in the cupcakes and brush tequila over the top using a BBQ sauce brush, or you can dip the top of the cupcake into a bowl of tequila.
Frosting
- Add in powdered sugar, butter, 1 cap full of tequila and lime juice into a standing mixer.
- Set on low speed and mix, increasing to medium speed slowly.
- Mix till the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes and top with a strawberry and lime slice.