Cupcake Wars: Lime Float Cupcake

When Dad was a boy his mom worked over in Gayle's Country Store in King and Queen County, VA.  She sorted the mail into the post boxes there for the community.  Some days, after school, he (and probably a number of his brothers and sisters) would head over to the store to hang out until she got off work.  Some days, dad would buy the ingredients for his favorite treat; Nehi Lime Soda, a little carton of Pet Vanilla Ice Cream, and a small bag of Wise Potato Chips.  The whole treat cost him a bit under a hefty $.15.  Since he started working on his cousin's farm at 8, he did have a bit of change in his pocket now and again!  He made a solid $5 a day from his first day on the job through his retirement at 18...he apparently did not have anyone making union negotiations for him! 

Now, back to his treat...Dad explained that he would eat a little of the ice cream to make room in the container and then pour in some soda and crumble some chips on top.  He would eat down that layer and add more soda and chips.  The whole idea of it made me giggle...just thinking of a mini Freeman eating his little concoction!  I don't know what would have inspired him to try this but I love a good salty sweet combo so I decided it was a perfect concept for a fun cupcake.

I looked at the elements necessary to recreate his snack.  I decided to make a Vanilla Bean Cupcake to replicate the flavors of a creamy vanilla ice cream.  Nehi doesn't make Lime Soda anymore.  I had originally thought about trying to incorporate some Sprite or find a Lime Soda in one of the natural soda lines from Trader Joe's or Fresh Market.  I felt the soda might be too watery and wanted a better concentration of the lime flavor.  I decided a creamy and mild flavor was the best so I opted for Key Lime Juice and used it to make a (very successful) Key Lime Buttercream Frosting.  Then, to top it all off, I crushed up a handful of thin Original Herr's Potato Chips.  Wise brand is also a fair memory but they were thin and crisp and the Herr's were a perfect sub-in. 

The result: YUMALICIOUS!  I searched out a recipe for a Vanilla Bean Cupcake online and found this one (click the link) from Simple Recipes.  I liked the use of the sour cream and double dose of vanilla with the extract and real bean.  Using vanilla bean always adds a ton of nice flavor as well as the gorgeous tell-tale speckles through the finished product.  The downside of vanilla beans are expensive although they are becoming more readily available (I have even bought one from Target).  Infusing the milk with the seeds and pod before adding it to the recipe really helps the flavors to come through nicely.  This recipe was not a piece-of-cake to make, though...it had a lot if steps which I followed closely. 

Don't forget...never skip the sift!!

What GORGEOUS batter...just have to taste it!

The finished product was delicious and it had a nice firm texture that held up nicely to my toppings.  The cupcakes had a beautiful color!  They were worth the effort and I will use this recipe again.  Aren't they pretty?  Can you see the black speckles of bean?



My buttercream is something I learned to make in High School when I worked at The Flower Shoppe of Williamsburg.  My boss made fantastic wedding cakes and his daughter would decorate them in the shop.  There is no recipe, I just make it by eye.  It is super simple though and amounts to:

Box of 10x Powdered Sugar
Stick of Unsalted Butter
1 T Vanilla
1 T Milk

When I make this, I start by creaming the butter in a electric mixer with a paddle attachment.  You don't want to start with your butter too soft or you will have to add too much sugar to get the texture right.  You add in a little sugar at a time (so it doesn't end up EVERYWHERE).  You put in the vanilla and milk for flavor and consistency.  You can't really over mix it--it just gets fluffier and smoother as it mixes away.  You want it to be light and spreadable.  If it is too sweet, you can add a bit more butter...if it seems too thin, you add a bit more sugar...too thick, you can add a bit more milk.  This makes more than enough frosting for a dozen cupcakes but I would do a batch and a half for a cake.  The leftover can be stored in the fridge for a week or so...you can schmere it on graham crackers or something!

For this recipe, I left out the milk and added the Key Lime Juice instead.  I used about 4 Tablespoons putting in a bit at a time and then checking the flavor.  I wanted to make sure the lime really came through.  It really had a surprisingly nice flavor; sweet, rich and creamy, and then a bit of tart, POW!

I stored the iced cupcakes in a lidded container and added the crunched chips right before serving so they did not get soggy.

Dad really enjoyed the final product (and so did the rest of us!)  I was a bit worried about how it would all come together but I loved them!  I would use the Key Lime Buttercream again too.  I need to come up with another fun combo to highlight that nice flavor.  Hmmm?  What goes great with lime?  Send your ideas!!

Yumalicious Dishes!