Celebratory Chocolate Beer Cupcakes Food

CHOCOLATE BEER CUPCAKES WITH WHISKEY FILLING AND IRISH CREAM ICING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
• Bring Irish stout beer and 1 cup butter to a boil in a saucepan and set aside until butter has melted, stirring occasionally. Mix in cocoa powder until smooth.
• Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
• Beat eggs with sour cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low until well combined. Slowly beat in the beer mixture, then the flour mixture; beat until the batter is smooth.
• Divide batter between the prepared cupcake cups, filling each cup about 2/3 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 17 minutes.
• Cool the cupcakes completely. Cut cores out of the center of each cupcake with a sharp paring knife. Discard cores.
• Bring cream to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat; stir in bittersweet chocolate until melted.
• Mix in 2 tablespoons butter and Irish whiskey until butter is melted; let mixture cool to room temperature. Filling will thicken as it cools.
• Spoon the filling into the cored cupcakes.
• For frosting, whip 1/2 cup butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Set mixer to low speed and slowly beat in confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, until frosting is smooth and spreadable. Beat in the Irish cream liqueur; adjust thickness of frosting with more confectioners' sugar if needed.
• Spread frosting on filled cupcakes.

GUINNESS CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH MOCHA GUINNESS BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring the Guinness to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer until reduced down to 2/3 cup, about 20 minutes. Set 1/2 cup aside to cool for 10-15 minutes before using in the cupcake batter. While it's warm, mix the rest of the reduced Guinness (about 2-2.5 Tablespoons) with the 2 teaspoons of espresso powder used in the frosting. Set this mixture aside for step 5. You can do this step 1 day ahead of time if needed. Refrigerate overnight. Bring reduced beer to room temperature before using in both the cupcake batter and frosting.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with 4 liners - this recipe makes about 16 cupcakes. Set aside.
• Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla together until completely smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the 1/2 cup (120ml) reduced Guinness, then whisk until *just* combined. Do not over-mix. The batter will be on the thinner side.
• Pour or spoon the batter into the liners. Fill each 2/3 full to avoid spilling over the sides or sinking. Bake for 19-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't over-bake, which will dry out the cupcakes. Begin checking for doneness at 19 minutes. For around 36 mini cupcakes, bake for about 11-13 minutes, same oven temperature. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
• Have the Guinness/espresso powder mixture from step 1 handy. In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, milk, reduced Guinness/espresso powder mixture, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat on low for 30 seconds then increase to high speed and beat until combined and creamy. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if desired. (I always add 1/8 teaspoon.) If you want the frosting a little thicker, add 1/4 cup (30g) of confectioners' sugar.
• Frost cooled cupcakes. I piped a basic tall swirl using Ateco 849 piping tip.
• Leftover cupcakes keep well covered tightly in the refrigerator for 3 days.

BEER BELLIES CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the cupcakes:
• Line mini cupcake pans with mini paper liners and set aside.
• Sift together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
• In a saucepan bring stout to a boil and continue boiling for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut butter to melt. Add lemon juice and allow to cool slightly, until mixture is lukewarm. Stir in sweetened condensed milk and whisk in the lightly beaten egg. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
• Distribute batter among the lined mini cupcake pans, filling each about 1/2 full. Stand a chocolate shard directly in the center of each cup. Place in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove cupcakes from the pan and set on a cooling rack to cool completely.
• For the pretzel crumbles:
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Mix together the flour, sugar, cayenne pepper, and salt. Using fingers, work in butter and then the crushed pretzels to create a coarse crumble. Spread the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. And bake for 12-14 minutes, gently stirring once halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
• For the frosting:
• In a double boiler or a heat proof bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the butter and sugar. Melt the mixture, stirring continuously until very thick, about 12 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and strain through a sieve to remove any lumps. Cool completely. Once the malt mixture has cooled, cream together with the butter. Incorporate the sugar and whip thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you add the sugar.
• To assemble: Using a 3/8 inch pastry tip, pipe a "donut" of frosting encircling the "belly button" of the cupcake. Top each cupcake with the spicy pretzel crumbles and serve.

CHOCOLATE BEER CAKE

Steps:

• For the frosting: Whisk the sugar, flour and salt together in a medium saucepan, then stir in the milk. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes (this cooks out the raw flour taste). Remove the pan from the heat and scrape the base into a shallow bowl. Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly against the surface of the frosting base and refrigerate until chilled and thick, at least 2 hours.
• For the cake: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 13-by-9-inch metal pan. Line the bottom and sides with parchment paper, then butter and dust the paper with cocoa powder.
• Whisk the flour, brown sugar, cocoa, malted milk powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl until evenly combined. In another bowl, whisk the butter, eggs, vanilla and 2 cups of the stout until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk until the batter just comes together. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour the remaining 3/4 cup stout into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the granulated sugar into the beer until dissolved. Let the stout syrup cool.
• Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then invert it onto a cooling rack and remove the parchment paper. Flip the cake onto another cooling rack so that it is right-side up again. Poke several holes all over the cake with a toothpick or wooden skewer, then drizzle the stout syrup evenly over the cake. Let the cake cool completely, then slide it onto a serving platter or board.
• Remove the frosting base from the refrigerator and let stand for 20 minutes to come to room temperature. Beat the butter for the frosting with an electric mixer on medium speed until lightened and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add a third of the base and beat until evenly incorporated. Add half of the remaining base, beat until smooth, then add the remaining base and the vanilla and beat until the frosting is fluffy and light, about 3 minutes.
• Scrape the frosting onto the cake and spread it evenly over the top and sides with an offset spatula or butter knife. Sprinkle the candy bars over the top of the cake and refrigerate until the frosting has firmed, at least 30 minutes or up to overnight, before serving.

CHOCOLATE SWEET POTATO CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with 14 cupcake liners.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the water, oil, vinegar, vanilla, and sweet potato until smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
• Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with the batter. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.
• For the coconut whipped cream: Chill the bowl and whisk of a stand mixer in the freezer for about 10 minutes. If they are not very cold, the cream will not whip properly. Skim the solidified coconut cream from the chilled can of coconut milk and transfer the solids to the bowl of the stand mixer. Do not include any of the coconut water, even if you have to leave behind a little margin of coconut cream (even a little bit of coconut water can harm your results).
• Add the powdered sugar and whip for a few minutes until the mixture begins to stiffen and turn into whipped cream. Chill the whipped cream in a covered container in the refrigerator. It should firm up even more as it sits in the refrigerator for the next few hours or overnight.
• To serve: Top each cupcake with whipped cream. Garnish each cupcake with chocolate shavings or a dash of ground cinnamon.

FLAN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the flan custard: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium pot over medium heat, add sugar and 1/2 cup water. Cook until the sugar caramelizes and turns an amber color, about 10 minutes, without stirring. Pour the caramelized sugar into an 8- by 10-inch pan or 10-inch cake pan and let it cool.
• In a blender, blend the eggs, cream cheese, condensed milk and evaporated milk. Blend for about 4 minutes.
• Pour the mixture into the pan. Put the pan inside an 11- by 14-inch pan. Put water into the larger pan until almost full. Bake until it sets and has a slight uniform jiggle, about 1 hour. When done, take the smaller pan out of the larger pan and let it cool.
• For the cupcakes: Line cupcake tins with paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Cream the butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy and light. Add the eggs, one at a time beating well between each addition. Then add the vanilla and mix until fluffy. Fold in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk. Do not over mix. Portion into the prepared cupcake tins. Bake for about 20 minutes.
• For the frosting: Combine the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla in a standing mixer or large bowl. Mix until smooth and spreadable.
• To assemble the cupcakes: Cut a hole in the top of each cupcake with an apple corer. Fill a pastry bag with the flan. Pipe in enough flan to fill the hole in the cupcake. Top each cupcake with frosting.