Red Velvet Cupcakes? Yes, please!

I’m not a big chocolate fan. I don’t really like it at all as a matter of fact. If you put a plate of chocolate cake in front of me and a plate of extra sharp cheddar cheese – I’d go for the cheese in a heartbeat. When I was a kid, my Aunt used to buy a half vanilla, half chocolate cake for birthday parties so I could still eat cake while everyone else was devouring chocolate cake. Some say spoiled, I say loved…

Recently I and a few sassy ladies attended the Phantom Gourmet Phood Phest and something magical happened. Yes, we did get a picture with one of the Andelman brothers but this time, that's not what I'm talking about. I had my first bite of Red Velvet cake. I was amazed. I was mesmerized. I was hooked! I went back for a few more pieces – they were tiny so it’s kind of okay that I ate about five of them. From there on out, I had a new mission in life. The cake was good enough but red velvet cupcakes?! Yes! They would be even better – just about everything is better in cupcake form isn’t it?!

I had only made one other cupcake without a box and was really amped to keep it up. I did some research since I had absolutely no idea how to bake such a savory treat and found a great recipe to follow on the Coconut & Lime website. It turned out delish and I ended up with these lovely little nuggets of southern luvin. (recipe to follow)

Ingredients:

2 C all purpose flour
1 ½ C Sugar
1 C Buttermilk (no one really has this lying around 1 cup milk plus 1 tbs lemon or vinegar makes buttermilk. Yes it is a little gross but get over it, it makes delish cupcakes)
1 stick of softened butter
1/3 C baking Cocoa
2 eggs
2 tbs red food coloring
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Add eggs and vanilla and combine well. In a mixing cup combine buttermilk and red food coloring. In another large bowl, stir together flour, cocoa and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time adding some colored buttermilk in between. Stir in baking soda and vinegar.* Pour into 24 lined cupcake tins. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean.

*Since I’ve got a touch of the ADD and my kitchen doesn’t lend itself to have a cook book near the chef while baking, I forgot to add the baking soda and the vinegar. I’m pretty sure that’s why my cupcakes weren’t fluffy and spongy. All I can remember is combining vinegar and baking soda as a kid in a papier mache (ok paper mache – for those non French speaking friends) volcano to make it erupt. I don’t think the cupcakes would have erupted in the oven but they might have baked up lighter and fluffier instead of dense little cakes. They tasted great, however they were a little hockey puck-ish.

I decided to “ice” with fondant. I've always been somewhat drawn to cakes done in Fondant and it does give a great smooth look. I decided because of the midgetness of the dense cupcakes to wrap them in the fondant upside to make little teacakes. I loved the look however the taste was a bit weird. Give me good ol’ butter cream icing any day!!

Caution: Irish car bombs mixed with cupcakes makes for a taste EXPLOSION!

Hello again! As it may or may not be known to you, my friends and I like to imbibe in the occasional cocktail or two. All though we've mellowed out some, back in the day we were shot connoisseurs - you name it, we'd shoot it. The Irish Car Bomb was one that always intrigued me; I like Guinness, I like Jameson, I like Bailey's but the thought of chugging the three together nearly brought me to tears.

This past week I was propositioned by a friend of mine to make some cupcakes for her boyfriend's birthday. We thought of some themes and I set off on a journey to the world wide web. Not only did I find a great new blog I found a recipe for Irish car bomb cupcakes. What better way to celebrate a birthday than with some car bomb Cupcakes?!

This was my first experience with a cupcake mix sans box and my fears were all for nothing. The stout and chocolate cakes came out moist and delicious, the gooey Jameson and chocolate ganache was a dream, and the Bailey's flavored icing was to die for. All in all, the cupcakes came out amazing. Each bite was like a 21st birthday party in your mouth.

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup stout (such as Guinness)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Ganache Filling

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey

Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. *The original recipe didn't let you know that before piping the filling into the cupcakes you should let it firm up. I didn't do this, it turned into a gross looking mess on my kitchen floor when I carried the piping bag over to the cupcakes.

Baileys Frosting

3 to 4 cups confections sugar

1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 shot of Baileys

* I used two nips, one just didn't get the flavor I wanted

Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time. If the icing begins to clump up - don't worry once you add the Bailey's it will smooth back out. Once the icing is thick enough it is ready to be spread onto the cupcakes awaiting!Ice and decorate the cupcakes.