Margarita Cupcakes to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo and the Giant Agave Plant at Garfield Park Conservatory

*If you'd like to receive these blog posts by email, send a message to chowdownchicagoblog@gmail.com with "Subscribe" in the subject line or message.*

An agave plant at the Garfield Park Conservatory has grown into a skyscraper. Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner. What other reason do you need to make margarita cupcakes?

The “celebrity plant” found in the Desert House section of the Conservatory has been nicknamed Guien, which is short for the plant’s official name, agave guiengola. Guien has shot up to over 20 feet in height, which is very unexpected for this plant that usually only grows to be about 10 feet high. This particular type of agave plant is only found in the wild on a single mountain, Cerro Guiengola, located in Oaxaca, Mexico. Ray Jorgensen, a floriculturist at the Conservatory, recently told Block Club Chicago that Guien is “trying to imitate skyscrapers because she’s in Chicago.”

In 2019, an agave americana plant at the Garfield Park Conservatory grew to be 38 feet tall. Staff had to remove part of the glass from the conservatory ceiling to allow the plant to rise. Unfortunately, because Guien began its growth spurts in December, it’s been too cold to allow the plant to rise above the glass ceiling during the winter and early spring. Once the towering stalk of the plant, known as the quiote, begins to spike, this is also a signal that the plant is going to flower for the only time in its life and then begin its demise.

While Guien’s glory may be nearing its end, the plant will live on in the seeds it has produced and the genetically identical offshoots that have sprung out from it. And since tequila is made from the agave plant, these margarita cupcakes--which make use of tequila in both the batter and the frosting--are a good way to commemorate Guien before it leaves us.

Americans often use the holiday of May 5th, or Cinco de Mayo, as an excuse to eat Mexican food and imbibe Mexican drinks. Mexican Americans originally celebrated the holiday in the late 1800s as an act of resistance. May 5th is the day that the Mexican Army was victorious over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War in 1862. (Despite popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day; that falls on September 16.) According to USA Today, Mexican Americans who decided to stay in America after the Mexican-American War of 1848 wanted to commemorate this victory because it remained a symbol of Mexico defeating a world power in a David vs. Goliath-type battle.

But since it’s been a rough couple of years, if you're mainly looking for something to celebrate and want to use Cinco de Mayo as an excuse to eat tacos and drink tequila, I say go right ahead. And try these delicious margarita cupcakes too while you’re at it.

This recipe originally appeared in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, which is chock full of delicious recipes. My sister Pauline says that vegan baked goods are the most delicious because they often make use of a wider variety of unexpected and sometimes exotic ingredients outside the standard butter, milk, and eggs to create flavor. By golly, I think she’s right. I usually stay true to the vegan nature of this recipe when making it, but I would venture to guess that using regular milk and/or butter will probably work out just fine. And as an added bonus, because there are no eggs in this recipe you can taste all the raw batter you want.  

Margarita Cupcakes

Makes one dozen

Ingredients:

For the batter:

cupcake liners

¼ c. lime juice—You’ll need about 5 to 6 limes for this, and using freshly squeezed juice will make a big difference in the taste.

1½ tsp. freshly grated lime zest

1 c. milk of your choice--In my opinion, soy milk usually works best in baking.

¼ c. canola oil

2 tbsp. tequila

½ tsp. vanilla extract

¾ c. sugar

1-1/3 c. flour

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

For the icing:

electric mixer

¼ c. butter or margarine, softened

1 tbsp. milk

3 tbsp. lime juice

1 tbsp. tequila

2 c. powdered sugar

1/8 tsp. kosher or coarse salt, if you’re feeling zesty

Note: If you don’t like to use a whole lot of icing on your cupcakes, you can get away with making a ½ batch of this icing recipe.

Optional:

Small drop of green food coloring to dye the icing

Crystal decorating sugar to sprinkle on top

Kosher or coarse salt to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, beat together the lime juice, lime zest, milk, oil, tequila, vanilla, and sugar. Mix in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until smooth.

Fill cupcake liners three-quarters of the way full. A handy tip from the authors of the Vegan Cupcakes cookbook is to use a greased ice cream scooper to dole out the batter. Bake 20 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick or fork inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them. Trust me on this one; I’ve tried cutting this corner before and it didn’t go well. If you’re pressed for time, put the cupcakes (still in the pan) in the freezer for about 10 minutes or until they feel cool to the touch (another handy tip I learned from the vegan cupcake ladies).

To make the icing, mix the butter or margarine with a fork until it’s soft, and then stir in the milk, lime juice, tequila, and food coloring if using. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and blend with an electric mixer until the icing is smooth. You may need to add a little more powdered sugar to get the icing to be just the right consistency for spreading. Refrigerate until you’re ready to frost the cupcakes.

Once the cupcakes are frosted, sprinkle with crystal decorating sugar and/or the kosher or coarse salt if you like. Keep cupcakes refrigerated until ready to serve.                                                                                                                               

Sources:

Patty Wetli and Joanna Hernandez, “Guien the Agave is Nearing Garfield Park Conservatory’s Glass Ceiling: ‘She’s Trying to Be a Skyscraper,’" WTTW.com (February 8, 2022).

Pascal Sabino, “Agave’s Death Bloom Has Grownto Over 20 Feet High at the Garfield Park Conservatory, Twice What WasExpected,” Block Club Chicago (February 8, 2022).

Jordan Mendoza and Gabriela Miranda, “Cinco de Mayo Is a Mexican Holiday. So Why Does the United States Celebrate ItMore?” USA Today (April 19, 2022).

“Cinco de Mayo,” History.com (April 29, 2022).