My mom is a big fan of key lime pie.  And I don’t blame her, a buttery graham cracker crust with a tart lime filling, and soft whipped cream on top.  There’s a lot to like there if you make it right.  This year I wasn’t going to be able to spend Mother’s Day with my mom so I decided to drive down to Connecticut the weekend before for a surprise Mother’s Day celebration.  On a side note, you can see how overdue this post is since I’m talking about something that happened in May.  Since we weren’t going to be spending actual Mother’s Day together I wanted to make her some special key lime cupcakes based on one of her favorite desserts.

For Cupcakes

[Inspired by Annie Eats]

Makes about 18 cupcakes

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 5  Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 16 tbsp. (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• Zest and juice of 4 key limes
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1¾ cups milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tins with 18 liners.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork.
3. Drop about 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom..
4. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and maintain the oven temperature.
5. For the cupcake batter , combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
6. Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and creamy in color.
7. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for one more minute.  Add in the lime zest.
8. Add the sugar to the butter mixture, ¼ cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition.  Mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
9. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
10. Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners, filling each about 2/3 of the way full.  Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For Filling

• 3 large eggs
• ¾ cups sugar
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed key lime juice
• Zest of 6-8 key limes
• 4 tbsp.  unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

1. In a saucepan, combine the eggs and sugar.  Whisk together until well blended.
2. Whisk in the key lime juice.
3. Place the pan over medium-low heat.  Cook, stirring or whisking constantly, until the mixture is warmed through.  Be careful not to heat the mixture too quickly to avoid curdling the eggs.
4. Whisk in the butter a little bit at a time, stirring in each addition until completely incorporated before adding more.  Continue to cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens and a spoon or spatula leaves a path when drawn through it.
5. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer.
6. Cut holes in the center of your cupcakes and spoon or pipe in filling until it reaches the top of the cupcake.

For Frosting

• 1 Tsp. unflavored gelatin
• 1 Tbsp.cold water
• 1 cup cold heavy or whipping cream
• 3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small dish and let sit for a few minutes until the gelatin absorbs the water.
2. Microwave the gelatin for about 30 seconds at high heat.  The gelatin will be clear and melted.
3. In the bowl of a mixer, beat the cream until it gets thick and starts to form peaks.
4. Gradually add in your sugar.
5. Mix in the melted gelatin and water mixture into the whipped cream.
6. Add in vanilla and mix well.
7. Pipe a ring of whipped cream frosting around the outer edge of the key lime cupcake so that you can see the lime filling in the center of the cupcake.

These cupcakes taste almost exactly like a slice of key lime pie!  I had seen other recipes that were just key lime flavored but I think the graham cracker crust on the bottom of these really gives them the essence of the pie.  They are tart and sweet with a little bit of crunch from the crust on the bottom.  I think my mom was very happy with her special Mother’s Day cupcakes.