Key Lime Cupcakes Recipe

Course: cupcakes, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 35

Cook Time: 18

Total Time: 53

Servings: cupcakes

Calories: 606kcal

Author: Becky Hardin

These key lime cupcakes feature a fluffy white cake base and a hidden creamy vanilla pudding center. Topped with a zesty homemade lime buttercream and crushed vanilla wafers, they are the ultimate easy summer dessert.

Print Recipe

US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Kitchen Scale (optional)
Cupcake Tin
Stand Mixer
Piping Tip Set

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

13.25 ounces white cake mix (1 box)
¾ cup water
¼ cup key lime juice (from 5-7 limes)*
4 teaspoons key lime zest (from 4-6 limes)
⅓ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs

For the Filling:

3.4 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix (1 box)**
2 cups milk

For the Buttercream:

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (2 sticks)
¼ cup vegetable shortening ***
4½ cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons key lime juice (from 2-3 limes)
2 teaspoons key lime zest (from 2-3 limes)

For the Topping:

¼ cup crushed vanilla wafers ****
12 key lime slices (from 3-4 limes)

Instructions

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake tin with liners and set aside.
Mix the cake mix, water, lime juice, lime zest, vegetable oil, and eggs together in a large bowl.
13.25 ounces white cake mix, ¾ cup water, ¼ cup key lime juice, 4 teaspoons key lime zest, ⅓ cup vegetable oil, 3 large eggs
Fill the cupcake liners ¾ full of batter.
Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Once baked, remove from the oven and place onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.

For the Filling:

Prepare the vanilla pudding according to the box directions. Once set, spoon into a piping bag and cut the tip off to make a roughly a dime-sized opening. Set aside.
3.4 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix, 2 cups milk

For the Buttercream:

Place all of the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for 4-5 minutes, or until smooth and creamy. Fill a piping bag fitted with a star tip ¾ full with frosting and set aside.
1 cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup vegetable shortening, 4½ cups powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons key lime juice, 2 teaspoons key lime zest

For Assembly:

Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a piping tip to hollow out the center of each cupcake. Save the removed cupcake piece and place into a bowl to use later.
Once all of the cupcakes are hollowed out, pipe the vanilla pudding into the holes in the cupcakes. Replace the piece of cupcake that was removed and press down to keep the pudding in place.
Pipe the buttercream onto the top of the cupcakes into the shape that you desire. Either roll the cupcake in the crushed vanilla wafers or, using your hands, scoop crushed vanilla wafers and press into the sides of the buttercream on the cupcake. Top each cupcake with a lime slice.
¼ cup crushed vanilla wafers, 12 key lime slices

Video

Notes

*If you don't have access to key limes, regular Persian limes work well, or you can buy bottled key lime juice!

**Other flavors that work well are cheesecake and white chocolate instant pudding.

***If you don't have any shortening on hand, you can replace it with an equal amount of unsalted butter.

****I like using Nilla wafers for the sandy coating on these cupcakes, but any kind of crushed cookie will work. Graham crackers are my second favorite.

Tips:

Hosting a backyard BBQ for a crowd? Double all ingredients to make a batch of 24 cupcakes.
Don't overmix the batter, or your cupcakes will turn out rubbery. Mix just until you no longer see streaks of flour.
If you're prepping these earlier in the day, use 2 tbsp less milk when prepping the pudding. This will make it a bit thicker and less likely to seep into the cupcakes.
Wait to add the lime slices until just before serving so you don't waterlog the frosting.

Make-Ahead: You can make the pudding up to 2 days ahead and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. You can bake the cupcakes up to 1 day ahead and store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to fill and frost.

Storage: Store key lime cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Nutrition