This little Tequila Lime Cake is wonderful.
With generous amounts of tequila and lime juice in the batter, it’s a Margarita with all the flavor and none of the guilt. This recipe also is interesting for its inclusion of masa harina ( flour made from corn soaked in limewater) along with the usual wheat flour that goes into a cake. The masa harina adds a little more texture to the cake–leaving it somewhere between a cake and corn bread.
Here’s a bit of historical trivia that is sorta kinda related. Did you know that the first frozen Margarita machine is in the Smithsonian. I didn’t. It was invented by a Dallas restauranteur named Mariano Martinez to speed up the process of making frozen Margaritas in his restaurant. Who said history couldn’t be fun?
This is a King Arthur Baking recipe. Here is the link: Tequila Lime Snack Cake.
Tequila Lime Cake
Ingredients
- Cake Ingredients
- 1 C. all-purpose flour
- 3/4 C. masa harina
- 2 1/4 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1 C. granulated sugar
- 4 T. butter (melted)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 t. vanilla extract
- 3/4 C. milk
- 3 T. tequila
- Zest of two limes
- Glaze Ingredients
- 1 C. confectioners' sugar (sifted)
- Zest of one lime
- 2 t. tequila
- 2-3 t. lime juice
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step 2 Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.
- Step 3 Combine flour, masa harina, baking powder and salt. Whisk to mix and set aside.
- Step 4 Combine sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, milk, tequila and lime zest. Mix the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Pour batter into your prepared pan and use an offset spatula to spread the batter into the edges of the pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 30 minutes depending upon your oven. When your cake is done, a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. When the cake is done, let it sit on your counter (on a rack) until it is completely cool.
- Step 5 While the cake is baking, make your glaze. Combine confectioners’ sugar, lime zest, and tequila. Mix in lime juice until you have a glaze that is smooth and pourable. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake. Use your offset spatula to spread the glaze so that it completely covers the surface of the cake. Decorate the top of the cake with more lime zest and a very thin slice of lime.
- Step 6 Cook’s Note: This little cake improves greatly on days 2 and 3 after it is baked, but it is admittedly difficult to forgo the pleasure of eating it as soon as it is glazed.
