Strawberry margarita cupcakes

Pin It I found these strawberry margarita cupcakes in 200 Cupcakes by Joanna Farrow. True to form, I made a couple modifications. I'll post my version of Ms. Farrow's recipe here:

BIWB goes Gluten-Free: Rum-Infused Apple and Quinoa Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Whoa!  That's probably the longest title yet!  So, I wanted to show our appreciation for one of our guest photographers, Erika.  She was able to capture one of Mrs. Murphy's booze-infused creations when a camera wasn't available.  I ran into Erika in the elevator and discovered that she was gluten-free.  An interesting concept: could I find a booze-infused gluten-free recipe?  I found this recipe on The Cupcake Project.  It called for rum, NO PROBLEM!

Look at these little darlings!

Quinoa?  I didn't even know the correct pronunciation, let alone where to find it in the grocery store or what it even looked like.  Found it in the wonderful bin section of our neighborhood Winco...LOVE Winco...LOVE the bin section...Anyway, it was pricey for a little-bitty grain.  I was up for this challenge!

"Almost" Tortuga Rum Cake

Last year, my brother, Chris, and his family went on a family vacation cruise to the Caribbean.  They brought me back two very interesting things, two things I've heard legend of for many, many year: Tortuga rum cake and Tortuga rum.  The former is FAMOUS, world-wide as a secret, age-old family recipe from the Tortuga Rum Company in the Cayman Islands.  Their rum cake was delicious!  (shhhhh...I ate the mini size in one sitting, it was a generous dessert portion...)  And, their rum cake is make with a special "premium five-year old, oak barrel aged Tortuga Gold Rum," which is NOT available to the public.  Nor is that damn recipe!  :(  Here is a shot of their product, I'm sure you've seen these boxes in fancy culinary stores.



My version on my new cake stand!



I knew I wanted to make rum cake some day with my Tortuga Rum, but needed to do some research and wait for the right time.  I can only bake so much booze-infused goodies...I found this recipe and used 1/2 Tortuga Rum and 1/2 Myers Dark Rum AND added vanilla bean paste into every step.  I only owned Bacardi, and well, I wanted something special for this cake.  Needed to try it first, just to make sure, before I made one for Chris and Katie, my SIL.  I must say, this cake was so moist and rich and yummy and boozy!  All the key essentials to a successful BIWB experience.