Boozy Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes

So I somehow convinced a friend to take me as her date to her work holiday party (free alcohol! yay, but no...) As a thank you, I made her these cupcakes, which were "christmas-y," as requested and as much as I hate to admit it, were inspired by the Starbucks holiday menu.

Total time: 2 hours --- 30 minutes to make the cakes and ganache, 30 minutes to let them cool, and an hour to let the ganache set/put on make up and blow out hair.

VERDICT: The friend/date really liked them or was nice enough to eat 3 for my benefit. Added bonus, the hardened ganache glaze keeps the cakes fresh for an extra couple of days.

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes 

adapted from Mark Bittman's chocolate cake recipe in How to Cook Everything, yields 12 cupcakes.

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened (or melted if you're lazy like I am)
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
9 tablespoons coccoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 shot kahlua
1 shot creme de menthe


1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake tin with paper liners.
2. Cream the butter until smooth gradually add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Beat in the yolks one at a time, followed by the coccoa powder and vanilla.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to mixture a bit at a time and stir in by hand alternating with the milk and liqueurs. Don’t overmix.
4. Beat egg whites until they are soft peaks and gently fold into the rest of mixture.
5. Fill cupcake liners ~3/4 the way full. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcakes comes out clean.
6. Cool on a wire rack before frosting.

Peppermint Ganache Glaze

12 oz dark/semisweet chocolate, chopped or in chips

1 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons creme de menthe, or more if you like

1. Heat cream on medium-high heat, take off stove JUST BEFORE cream boils.

2. Pour heated cream over chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy.

3. Add creme de menthe and let cool before topping cupcakes. To top cupcakes, dip cooled cakes into ganache and let set at room temperature for ~1 hour. 

Confession: the ganache glaze was really me being too lazy
to cream butter and sift sugar to make frosting.

Red cupcake liners make the cupcakes really festive AND
compliment the crushed candy topping.

Easiest topping ever. 

Add crushed peppermint candy before ganache
sets for that extra Martha Stewart touch.

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

As a result of my pumpkin puree hoarding, I had a lot of pumpkin to experiment with. I thought about making a boozy pumpkin pie, but who has time on a Friday night to wait for dough to chill and then roll it out? Not me, I got happy hours to pre-game (kidding, kind of). I decided to compromise and make a pumpkin pie cupcake, with a graham cracker "crust" cake and a pumpkin pie "filling" frosting. This was originally a sober recipe, but I'm adding a boozy suggestion in parenthesis.

Total time: 45 minutes, includes letting cakes cool before frosting and drinking 2 glasses of sauvignon blanc.

VERDICT: The roommate liked it and has had multiple helpings. Flavor-wise, it captures the end of fall pretty well and pairs surprisingly well with red wine.

Pie "crust" cupcakes 

(adapted from s'mores cake, yields 12 cupcakes)

1 cup flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or whiskey vanilla extract)
1/2 cup milk (or cinnamon liqueur, I recommend Fireball)


1. Preheat oven to 400F. Take out butter, cream cheese, and eggs so that they come to room temperature.
2. Graham cracker crumbs: take out a bunch and blend into a fine powder by pulsing in a blender/food processor OR put in a ziploc bag and crush by hand.
3. Combine flour, cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Make sure there are no clumps and set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla extract, then add the flour mixture and milk in alternate batches starting with the flour mixture.
5. Fill cupcake tin to about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400F.
6. Prepare the frosting: combine powdered sugar and spices, set aside. Mix the butter, cream cheese, and pumpkin puree, then add the sugar mixture and liqueur (if using). Make sure everything is evenly incorporated.
7. Let the cupcakes cool for 10-20 minutes before frosting.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting 

adapted from chow.com

1 stick unsalted butter
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar (plus extra if adding liqueur)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 can pumpkin puree
1 oz Fireball liqueur (optional)

Mini Pumpkin Souffles

I realized that it's almost DECEMBER and I hadn't made anything with pumpkin yet. Fall is hands down my favorite season and it's rare that there is a non-chocolate dessert that people love so I jump on the chance to bake with pumpkin. The other mini souffles turned out well so I decided to try a non-chocolate option (I almost always try a new cake recipe with chocolate first; it hides a multitude of sins).

On a more pathetic note, the thought of missing out on the short window of time where pumpkin puree is readily available hurt so much that I actually went to the store after vowing that I was going to be lazy and use whatever I had on hand and hoarded an extra 2 cans of the stuff for later.

Total prep time: 15 minutes + 20 minutes baking and cooling
Verdict: These were much more moist, for lack of a better word, than the chocolate ones. I'm not sure if it's because I had them in the oven for less time or if it's because I didn't remove them from the muffin tin right away and they ended up steaming while they were cooling. Overall, they're not very sweet. I would add milk to the mixture to make it more custard-y or serve them with a cinnamon/brown sugar/graham cracker topping to up the dessert factor.

my collapsed souffle :(

Mini Pumpkin Souffles

Adapted from Comfy Tummy, yields 12 mini souffles

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon Whiskey Vanilla Extract
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 375F, spray or grease baking dish (ramekin if you have it, muffin tin works too).

2. Combine 1/4 cup sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, spices and pumpkin puree.

3. In a separate (not plastic) bowl, add 1 tablespoon sugar to the egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form.

4. Gently fold egg whites into pumpkin batter. Work in small batches, adding egg whites in thirds to the batter, until the egg whites have just been incorporated into the batter.

5. Fill baking dish/cups/tin to the brim and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Mini Chocolate Souffles

The urge to bake was strong. In fact, it was much stronger than the urge to clean, finish a manuscript, do laundry, or go out with people. Of course, the urge to bake was tempered by being to lazy to do any real work in the kitchen (there's no flour to sift!) or buy any extra ingredients (for some reason there are TWO cocoa powder tubs in the pantry).

Total prep time: 10 minutes + 15 minutes to bake.
Verdict: Excellent way to burn through the extra cocoa powder and surprisingly satisfying given the lack of carbs in the dessert. I detest chocolate, so the roomie bravely tried it and liked it. Overall, tasty and gluten-free (bonus!).

Mini Chocolate Souffles

Adapted from Real Simple, yield = 4 mini souffles

2  tablespoons unsalted butter
3  ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate*
1/2  teaspoon Whiskey Vanilla Extract
2  eggs, separated
2  tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon butter or cooking spray

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

*I almost never buy baking chocolate and replace 1 oz of chocolate with 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (butter works too).

1. Preheat oven to 375F, spray or grease baking dish (ramekin if you have it, muffin tin works too) and dust with cocoa powder.

2. Melt butter and chocolate together in a heatproof bowl over simmering water until smooth. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract and egg yolks. Stir well.

3. In a separate (not plastic) bowl, add sugar to the egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form.

4. Gently fold egg whites into chocolate batter. Work in small batches, adding egg whites in thirds to the batter, until the egg whites have just been incorporated into the batter.

5. Fill baking dish/cups/tin to the brim and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Boozy Cake Challenge #1

The idea for this cupcake from an old friend who sent me an article for a  s'muffin and asked for the boozy version. The result: a graham cracker cake with a boozy hershey kiss filling topped off with a toasted marshmallow. I dedicate this recipe to my original drinking buddy/favorite engineer Ricky (what happens in Boston stays in Boston).

Ricky's Boozy S'mores Cupcakes

Graham Cracker Cupcake (adapted from Ming Makes Cupcakes #32), yields 12 cupcakes

1 cup flour

3/4* cup graham cracker crumbs - use original/honey crackers NOT cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon Whiskey Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup milk

*original recipe called for 1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs, but I really wanted the flavor to come through.

"Boozy Hershey kisses"

12 plain chocolate kisses

1 shot of Whiskey - I used Jameson because that's what I had

Topping

1 bag regular sized marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Take out butter and eggs so that they come to room temperature. Unwrap chocolate kisses, pour whiskey over them and set aside (keep the runoff, it will be chocolate infused booze).

2. Graham cracker crumbs: take out a bunch and blend into a fine powder by pulsing in a blender/food processor OR put in a ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin or whatever's handy (boozy tip: a bottle makes for a great impromptu rolling pin).

3. Combine flour, cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Make sure there are no clumps and set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, mix the butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla extract, then add the flour mixture and milk in alternate batches starting with the flour mixture. If the batter looks too dry, add a little milk or booze (try to make sure it's the same booze you used to make the boozy extract).

5. Add 1 tablespoon of batter to cupcake tin, then place boozy chocolate kiss in center and add more batter. Fill cupcake tin to about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes at 400F.

6. Place a marshmallow on top of each cupcake. Bake at 400F for another 5 minutes. The marshmallow melts off center, but it's an easy fix with a butter knife.

7. Let the cupcakes cool for 10-20 minutes. When they are just warm, carefully drizzle the runoff from making the boozy kisses onto the cakes (confession: I used a syringe and shot 6 cc's into each cake).

Taste test: One taster felt compelled to eat 3 and commented "FYI: These were the best cupcakes I've ever had." on Facebook.

Booziness: "the Jameson kicks in after couple of these."

VERDICT: I think the cake would've been better if it had been a ganache and not just a hershey kiss, but I didn't want to work that hard on my own birthday cake and I don't like chocolate so I didn't want to be stuck with a ton of ganache. Also, I'm pretty sure the ganache would be a mess if it went into the the oven so   the only way to make the ganache work is modify it or  make a marshmallow frosting and then toast it with a torch.

Cupcake rave!

Toasty topping: do NOT try to do this with the broiler,
you'll burn the marshmallows. No one wants charred cupcakes.

Cross-section.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Whiskey* Vanilla Extract

2 vanilla beans

Jameson Whiskey (about a shot give or take)

dark or lightproof bottle

Spilt the vanilla beans in half and cut in half so that they fit into a small bottle. Add Whiskey and let sit in a cool, dark place for a month. 

*I was planning on having a whiskey-themed cake so I used whiskey, but I'm sure vodka or rum would work just as well (obviously Bourbon should work given all of the bourbon extracts on the market).

Easiest recipe ever. The only hard part is waiting a month for it to mature, but considering it's REAL vanilla extract for a fraction of what you'd pay at Williams Sonoma or Whole Foods, it's totally worth the wait. I bought my beans from Trader Joes for $3.99 and used booze that I had on hand in the apartment. I also forgot to take pictures because I am the worst blogger ever BUT I will do a controlled experiment with different boozes and document it as soon as I have enough guinea pigs to taste all of the resulting cakes.

2 Cupcakes, 1 Party

For the roomie's 24th birthday party, I made two kinds of cupcakes: a boozy white russian cake and a slightly less boozy cupcake version of chocolate covered strawberries. I'm not sure why I decided to make two kinds of cake. The original logic was probably that 24 = 2 dozen. Or that people who aren't into alcohol would appreciate having cake that wasn't soaked in alcohol. Oh well. Everyone seemed to like them and I got a "Holy cupcake Batman!" text from a friend/cupcake connoisseur who got the leftovers.

Total effort for 2 dozen cupcakes: 1 hour to buy ingredients I didn't have, 1.5 hours of active prep (mixing, baking, and frosting both batches), and ~2 hours for cakes to cool.

White Russian Cupcakes

adapted from Baked Perfection, yields 12 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups self-rising/cake flour*

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

1/8 cup vodka (I used Smirnoff because we had a bunch of handles of it for the party, obviously you can use Vladimir or whatever)

1/4 cup Kahlua, divided into 2 portions (aka: 2 shots)

*original recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour and 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, but I was trying to burn through my cake flour.

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 

3. In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until combined (I'm really lazy, so I melt the butter to make it go by faster). Then add eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla, vodka, and a shot of Kahlua. 

4. Gradually add the flour mixture in three parts to the "wet" butter batter, alternating with the milk in two parts. The last part added should be the flour mixture.

5. Fill cupcake liners ~3/4 the way full. Bake 17 -20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcakes comes out clean. While the cupcakes are still warm, brush the tops with the other shot of Kahlua. 

6. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

White Russian Frosting

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened (Do not be lazy and melt the butter)

3 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

3 - 4 tablespoons Kahlua

1. Beat butter until creamy. Add salt. 

2. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. 

3. Add Kahlua 1 tablespoon at a time until the frosting is the right consistency/booziness. If you mess up and add too much, you can always add more powdered sugar to stiffen up the frosting. Spread or pipe onto cupcakes. If you're going to use a piping bag, keep the frosting on the thinner side.

"Chocolate-Covered Strawberries" Cupcakes

This is just a basic chocolate cupcake with a strawberry creme liquer frosting. It would've probably been more accurate to make strawberry cupcake with chocolate frosting.

Chocolate cupcakes

adapted from Mark Bittman's chocolate cake recipe in How to Cook Everything
1 stick + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened (or melted if you're lazy like I am)
2 cups self-rising/cake flour
9 tablespoons coccoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups milk

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake tin with paper liners.
2. Cream the butter until smooth gradually add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Beat in the yolks one at a time, followed by the coccoa powder and vanilla.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to mixture a bit at a time and stir in by hand alternating with the milk. Don’t overmix.
4. Beat egg whites until they are soft peaks and gently fold into the rest of mixture.
5. Fill cupcake liners ~3/4 the way full. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcakes comes out clean.
6. Cool on a wire rack before frosting.

Strawberry Creme Frosting

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened (Do not be lazy and melt the butter)

3 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

3 - 4 tablespoons strawberry creme (I used Tequila Rose)

1. Beat butter until creamy. Add salt. 

2. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. 

3. Add Strawberry Creme 1 tablespoon at a time until the frosting is the right consistency/booziness. Again, if you mess up and add too much, you can always add more powdered sugar to stiffen up the frosting. Spread or pipe onto cupcakes. Keep the frosting on the thinner side for piping.

 

The finished product! beige = white russians cupcakes,
pink = chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes

Helpful hint: If you're not serving them right away, freeze the cupcakes unfrosted (see below) in an airtight, freezer-safe container. You can thaw them before serving by popping them in the microwave for ~10 seconds on high.