Looking for a great Cosmopolitan Cupcake recipe?
Cranberry, orange, lime, and vodka - honestly, what’s not to love? And in my often-repeated experience, if the flavor’s great in a cocktail it’s even better in a cupcake. So I went looking for a beautiful and flavor-forward recipe for Cosmopolitan cupcakes - preferably with real vodka! 😉
The backstory:
If I’m honest - I was a bit less than thrilled with what I found in all of my poking around online. (As a brief aside, googling “Cosmo Cupcakes” is unhelpful if you’re looking for a cupcake recipe - because apparently that’s a type of flower. Just an FYI.) I found recipes with cake mixes, some with real cranberries - don’t get me wrong: neither of those things are bad. But sometimes that ‘cake mix’ flavor is hard to override with any other flavors, and the Cosmopolitan cocktail doesn’t (usually) have any real cranberries in it. Others flavored the cupcakes with citrus juices - which in my experience don’t pack a lot of flavor punch and tend to fizz out my leavening agents. Annoying as heck. Since I just didn’t find one I was really super super excited about…I decided to take a stab at writing my own recipe!
The plan + process:
I didn’t want it to just look reminiscent of a Cosmo cupcake - I wanted it to taste like one too! Since citrus juices tend to react with the rising agents in cupcakes, I went for after my flavor goals with cranberry, lime, and orange extracts and a healthy dose of lime zest. (To make piping easier I left the zest out of the frosting though.) For color contrast I added some green food coloring to the cupcake batter - and I liked the way the overall look came out. That said, pink would be a great option too. The cocktail, after all - is more pink than green.
Each cupcake got a swirl of ‘Cosmopolitan frosting’ AND - about half of them got a cocktail-filled shot topper! The ratios in the shot topper filling maybe don’t exactly match the ratios of a Cosmopolitan cocktail, but I wanted the vodka flavor to carry through to the cupcake. (If that’s not your jam, just leave the toppers off! The cupcakes still have plenty of cranberry/lime/orange flavor and were good without the extra alcohol. I still like the toppers though. 😉 )
(After some recipe testing…I’m a touch torn on whether I added too much lime. But I - and most of my taste-testers - love that flavor so I wrote the recipe accordingly. Something to bear in mind if you’re not a lime-lover!)
It doesn’t look like a large volume in that shot topper - and really it’s not - but it’s enough to add a really good kick of cosmopolitan flavor to the cupcake!
Annnd that’s everything! Recipe’s below - enjoy!
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Cosmopolitan Cupcakes
Equipment
- 2 Cupcake pans (24 cups total)
- 1 large cookie scoop (optional; to transfer cupcake batter to pans)
- 24 plastic pipettes (I used these martini glass-shaped pipettes)
- Small paring knife
Ingredients
Cosmo Cupcakes:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon lime extract
- ½ Tablespoon orange extract
- ½ Tablespoon cranberry extract (I usually have to buy this online)
- 2 Tablespoons lime zest (about 1 small lime - I recommend fresh but you can also buy it dried)
- 1 cup buttermilk (or substitute whole milk)
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup vodka
- 1-2 drops green food coloring if desired
Cosmopolitan Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese (one package, softened)
- 1 cup butter (16 tablespoons or two sticks, softened)
- 5-6 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons vodka
- 1 teaspoon lime extract
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter (if using unsalted butter)
- 1-2 small drops pink food coloring
Cosmopolitan pipette filling + Decorations
- ¼ cup cranberry juice
- ¼ cup vodka
- ⅛ cup triple sec (or Cointreau; 1/8 cup = 2 Tablespoons)
- 24 lime slices (halves or quarters; whichever you prefer)
Instructions
Cosmopolitan Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ (180℃), and prepare 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Set aside. (Melt and cool butter; you don’t want it to cook your eggs!)
- Combine all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar) in a large bowl, then combine cooled butter, eggs, flavor extracts & lime zest, milk, sour cream, and vodka in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients and stir to combine. Blend in food coloring if using.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 full. (Thick batter is normal! Using a large cookie scoop makes this an easy process.)
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until set in the centers and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before decorating. (This is a great time to make your frosting and pipette filling!)
Cosmopolitan Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with vodka and lime/orange extracts until frosting reaches a pipeable consistency. (I recommend making the frosting on the thick side, so that the swirls hold their shape and the pipettes stay put.) Add food coloring and salt if needed and beat until well combined.
‘Shot Top’ pipette filling
- Combine cranberry juice, vodka, and triple sec in a small glass, and stir to mix well.
Noooow – onto the fun part!! Decorating!
- Transfer frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a star tip (I used a closed star similar to the Wilton jumbo 1B). Pipe frosting in large swirls onto your cupcakes.
- Squeeze the air out of your pipettes, then submerge the open end into the pipette mix and allow them to fill. (I tipped mine back and forth a few times to get the air bubbles out so they'd be completely full.) Press a pipette into the frosting on each cupcake.
- Slice 24 lime wedges and press one into the frosting on top of each cupcake.
- Step back, give yourself a high-five, and admire your amazing cupcakes! When they’re ready to be eaten, squeeze the pipette to infuse the cupcake with your Costmopolitan cocktail mix – and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make these Cosmopolitan Cupcakes?
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