lemon lime tea cakes

And so it continues... my preoccupation with bite sized fare.  I won't go on and on again for all the reasons I love things in mini portions, but these are perfect for so many occasions.  I had an order for some bite sized food for a baby shower and I remembered about these mini tea cakes my friend Lea had told me about.  They turned out to be the perfect spring treat and they are so easy.  I was thinking about whipping up a couple of batches for Cinco de Mayo.  They just seem like the perfect treat for a fiesta... My only warning:  You might want to consider tripling or quadrupling this recipe... the go very, very quick.  

Lemon Lime Tea Cakes

Adapted from Everyday Food

Ingredients

Cooking spray or butter for coating pan

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest, plus 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

2 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1 large lemon (ends cut off), very thinly sliced and seeded

2 tablespoons lime zest (optional: for garnish)

Powdered sugar (optional: for garnish)

Step by Step

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place a baking rack in the top 1/3 of the oven. Lightly coat a 24-cup mini-muffin pan with butter or cooking spray. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, 2/3 cup sugar, and lemon and lime zests on medium speed until light and creamy, but not fluffy. Add lemon and lime juices along with eggs and beat to combine, scraping down bowl.  Gradually add flour and salt and beat until blended on low speed. Divide batter among muffin cups (about 1 tablespoon each). Bake until cakes are golden around edges and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 15 minutes.

While mini cake are baking, combine 2/3 cup water and 2/3 cup sugar in a medium size pan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Add lemon slices and rapidly simmer until peel turns translucent and lemon syrup thickens slightly, 5 minutes.

With a toothpick, poke holes all over tops of warm tea cakes in pan. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon lemon syrup over each cake. Let cakes cool slightly in pan; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To plate, place candied lemons on a platter.  Place tea cakes on top and sprinkle with powdered sugar and lime zest.