Vegan Rangpur Lime Coconut Cupcakes

We’ve still got quite a few Rangpur limes left on our little tree, so on Sunday I decided to make something new with them—cupcakes piled high with icing. The Rangpurs have ripened to a brilliant, deep orange. They really do look like Christmas balls hanging out on the tree. They taste so good. They're even better than ordinary limes because they're not merely sour and tangy. No, in addition, they've got an elusive, faintly flowery flavor that's pretty bewitching. There’s a little hint of honeysuckle, a little taste of spring.

And their scent is just intoxicating; it will drive you crazy with delight. When I was zesting the limes for my cupcakes, the kitchen smelled like the wildest, most romantic garden, a lush, warm place located somewhere in Hawaii.

“If I were designing a perfume,” I said to Rob, “it would have top notes of Rangpur.”

"Hmm," Rob said. (He was reading a magazine, not paying attention.)

I kept talking anyway: "You should try this icing. It's like eating a flower."

And it really was. The cupcakes turned out so delicious. I'd been pretty sure they would: The recipe is based on one I found in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which is probably my favorite vegan cookbook.



Vegan Rangpur Lime Coconut Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1/3 cup coconut oil
¾ cup sugar
1 cup coconut milk
¼ cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
1 Tbls Rangpur lime zest
1 cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 cup shredded coconut

Icing:

½ cup Crisco shortening
½ cup non-dairy butter, softened
3½ cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
¼ cup Rangpur lime juice

Garnish:

Shredded coconut

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the coconut oil over low heat and pour it into a large bowl. Blend in the sugar. Add coconut milk, almond milk, vanilla, coconut extract, and Rangpur lime zest. Mix. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and blend until smooth. Finally, mix in the coconut.

Pour the batter into a lined cupcake pan. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick poked into a cupcake comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are baking, make the icing. Beat everything together in a large bowl until fluffy.

When the cupcakes have completely cooled, ice them and sprinkle shredded coconut over the tops.