Line 18 muffin cups with muffin papers. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cake mix, water, egg whites, melted butter, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a large bowl for 2 minutes, or until the batter is well blended. Using about 1/3 cup of batter for each cupcake, spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake the cupcakes until they are very pale golden on top, about 15 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely on a cooling rack.

For the raspberry lime curd and frosting, I borrowed the recipe from Jaime on The Family Kitchen. As she cautioned, the curd was a bit time-consuming but the result was so worth it. And the frosting was divine… fluffy, light, and just a hint of lime.

raspberry lime curd

1 cup frozen raspberries, defrosted (after they’re defrosted, they look like about 1/4 cup)
zest of 4 limes
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 cup lime juice (from about 4-5 limes)
pinch of salt

1. Press raspberries through a fine sieve to extract all the pulp. Set aside.

2. In a medium sized bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together zest, butter, and sugar. Incorporate eggs one at a time and mix until smooth. Add in raspberry pulp, lime juice and salt. Mixture will be curdled. Don’t freak out!

2. Pour mixture into a large saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes. Raspberry lime curd will come together and thicken. When it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, remove from heat. Strain through a fine sieve into a glass bowl and allow to cool. Refrigerate or freeze until you need it.

raspberry lime frosting

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup cold raspberry lime curd (recipe follows)
1 1/2 cups (250mL) heavy cream
1 teaspoon lime zest

1. In a small bowl, whisk together confectioner’s sugar and raspberry lime curd.

2. In another bowl, beat the cream on high until stiff peaks form.

3. Fold the two mixtures and lime zest together until smooth, being careful not to deflate the whipped cream. If mixture becomes too smooth, you can whir it around with the mixer to fluff it up.