Boozy Cupcakes

I spent the last weekend puttering around the city checking out all the tourist attractions with my friend Damon who was visiting from Portland…we went to the Navy Pier and rode the Ferris Wheel, looked at the Millennium Park Bean Sculpture, enjoyed the beautiful harbor on Lake Michigan, and did a bit of shopping on Michigan Avenue, it was so much fun! Thank god the weather is finally getting warmer here so we could enjoy our time outside and not freeze.

We also spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking up some yummy meals. My favorite recipe was for these Boozy Cupcakes they were absolutely amazing! I only had one cupcake pan so I made one batch of cupcakes and one 9-inch cake. Damon found this recipe which has excellent step by step instructions and pictures, so make sure to check it out. The only thing I would change would be to add Chopped Pecans to the top, which we did with the cake, it really added a perfect balance to the sweetness of the cake. Cheers!

Boozy Cupcakes

Cake:

1 Cup Guiness Beer

1 Stick + 1 Tablespoon Butter, cut into pieces

2 Cups Brown Sugar

¾ Cups Sour Cream

2 Eggs

¾ Cups Cocoa Powder

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

2 Cups Flour

2 ½ Teaspoons Baking Soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners (or 12 cupcakes and one greased 8-9 inch cake pan).

Combine Guinness and butter in a large saucepan, heat to melt butter, remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa and sugar. In a large bowl, combine the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla, then add Guinness mixture and whisk to combine. Next, add the baking soda, and flour and whisk to combine. Pour into cupcake pan and bake 25 minutes for cupcakes, or 35 minutes for cake, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Gnache Filling:

12 Ounce Bag Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

½ Cup Heavy Cream

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Teaspoons Bailey’s Irish Cream

Place the chocolate in a heat-safe bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering, then pour over the chocolate. Let sit for one minute then whisk until smooth. If the chocolate is not completely melted, place bowl over a double boiler. Add the butter and Bailey's and stir until combined. Set aside and cool until thick enough to be piped. Meanwhile, cut a portion from the center of each cupcake, pipe cooled gnache into cupcakes.

Frosting:

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

3 Cups Powdered Sugar

4 Tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream

4-6 Tablespoons Irish Whiskey

Chopped Pecans (optional)

Place butter in a mixing bowl and beat at medium-high speed for a minute until light in color and fluffy. Add the Irish Cream and Whiskey and mix to combine. Next slowly add the powdered sugar and adjust with more to create a spreadable consistency. Ice filled cupcakes and top with chopped pecans (if desired).

Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes

I was trying to think of a treat to take to work the other day and cupcakes came to mind. I hardly ever make them, because I literally forget about them. It’s interesting to me how people respond to a cupcake versus a regular cake and the fact that just having it in a single serve size brings such happiness to people. I hate to admit it but I used a chocolate cake mix for these and then made my favorite chocolate frosting (hence the lack of a recipe for this posting). Piping icing on cupcakes always seems easier to me than individually frosting them with a knife, and I think it looks a little better too. So here’s to a yummy cupcake, which was forgotten and brought back to existence! If you are feeling guilty using a boxed cake mix and need a recipe for chocolate cake, you can find it here.

Chocolate Frosting

1 Stick unsalted butter, melted (do not substitute margarine here, please!)
2/3 Cups Cocoa
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/3 Cups Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Combine cocoa with melted butter in mixing bowl and mix until combined. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk 1/3 at a time while mixer is at a medium speed. Add more milk if necessary until desired consistency is reached. Stir in vanilla.