Celebratory Chocolate Beer Cupcakes Recipes

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.

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.

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.