Key Lime & French Vanilla Cheesecake Cupcakes

I have had this Idea for a while now to make some key lime cupcakes but did not know what to top them with, but then my wife gave me the idea to top them with whipped cream and some instant pudding mix to stiffen it up, and I came up with Key Lime & French Vanilla Cheesecake Cupcakes.

Step 1: The Ingredients

you will need the following for the cupcakes:

1 box of Duncan Hines classic white
2 tablespoons of oil
2 Large eggs (I know it shows 3 but i'll explain later)
2/3 cups of key lime juice
2/3 cups of water 

For the topping you will need:

an 8 oz. French Vanilla tub of cool whip
a 3.4 oz. box of instant pudding, I used cheesecake flavor 

Step 2: Mixing the Ingredients

First off start by putting the cake mix in a mixing bowl.  Now the box says to use 3 large egg whites but if you have ever made key lime pie it only calls for the yolks, so I split the difference and just put in two large eggs, the yolks and whites.  

Next it called for 1 1/3 cup of water I cut that as well and 2/3 cup of Nellie & Joe's Key West lime juice and 2/3 cup of water.  Now the reason I used the pre-squeezed lime juice is because I had just enough left over from a Key lime pie I made a few weeks ago, instead of buying a small bag of Key limes.  You can use lime juice if you want but I like the higher acidity and stronger aroma that keylimes have, more then that of a regular lime. You can add more or less key lime juice depending on your tastes just make sure to subtract the additional lime juice from the waters portion.

Now just add in the oil and a very small amount of food coloring for a light green color (optional).  I know it is going to sound weird but add in a very small amount of blue coloring to turn it a pastel green color.

Step 3: Portion and Bake

Now just portion them into cupcake pan liners and bake at 350 Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or so, remove them and cool.

While the cup cakes are baking we will make the French Vanilla Cheesecake topping.

Just empty the tub of cool whip into another mixing bowl and add in the pudding mix.  Now as to not completely destroy the airation the the whipped cream has, fold in the pudding mix with a spatula.  Now when you first mix it the topping will have a grainy texture to it but after it sits for about 15-20 minutes it will become smooth because all of the pudding mix has dissolved.

Step 4: Finishing Touches

After the cupcakes have cooled and the topping has blended together.  I put all of the topping in a frosting press with a star tip and placed a dollop of the topping on each one. 

The cupcakes have a nice tartness to them and the topping mellows it out nicely.  The only downside is that because of the frosting they need to be stored in the fridge.  But if you are serving them as soon as you make them there is no issue or need to refrigerate.  

Enjoy!!!