Hubbs and I had a pretty quiet celebration. We had a friend over and I made stuffed mushrooms and cupcakes. Really healthy stuff, right? The cupcakes are what I really wanted to share about, though. If you don't like chocolate, read no further.
I found a recipe for Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes online and adapted it to my way of working. The beer isn't too noticeable, but adds another level of delicious to the eating experience. I love any opportunity to use my red mixer and this was the perfect one since I'd also be making homemade frosting. Here's the deal for the cupcake batter:
1 c unsalted butter (I accidentally only used 1/2 c and they turned out great)
1 c Guinness stout
2/3 c cocoa powder
1 c light brown sugar
1 tsp table salt
1 c white sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 c sour cream
Preheat your oven to 350 F. In a saucepan melt the butter and add Guinness, cocoa powder, and light brown sugar. Whisk frequently until it is all melty, combined, and smooth. Remove from heat and let it cool. Perhaps sample the tasty goodness on your whisk.
In your mixer, add the rest of your ingredients (sans eggs and sour cream). Make sure these are all stirred together, then add the cool Guinness mixture to them. Once that is mixed well, add in your eggs and sour cream. If you taste the batter at this point, you'll notice the sour cream so don't taste it. Once the batter has been baked that goes away and what is left is moist chocolatey goodness.
Fill your cupcake liners 2/3 or 3/4 full depending on how much you want them to bake over. Bake for 20-25 minutes. This recipe made me 20 cupcakes.
Now for the frosting:
1/2 c butter, room temperature
3 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 pinch salt
Bailey's (to taste)
Jamison's (to taste)
Cream the butter as best you can in your clean mixer bowl. Then add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Toss the salt in. Mix until combined. Add some Bailey's and Jamison's as you're mixing until you get a spreadable consistency. Taste frequently. If you want to cut down on the booze factor just use Bailey's and milk.
Now frost those lovely cooled cupcakes! I sprinkled some extra cocoa powder and then decided to sprinkle some salt, too. The salt isn't terribly noticeable, but it adds interest to the taste and evens out the sweetness a bit.
Enjoy!
