Cocktail {Alcohol-Infused} Cupcakes

As part of the Birthday Rush party, we made our “pledge” do shots–cupcake shots! My recipes aren’t original, in fact I found them here at Cosmopolitan.com as an excerpt from The Boozy Baker: 75 Recipes for Spirited Sweets (a book I think I might be buying soon!)

I tried four variations: Mint Julep Cupcakes, Lemon Drop Cupcakes, Coffee Chocolate (Kahlua & Cream) Cupcakes and the Berry Boozy Cupcakes. The secret to making these taste like their liquid counterparts is the frosting. The cake recipe wasn’t very moist and the one tablespoon of booze didn’t impart much flavor. Soaking the cupcakes in alcohol (for me) was out of the question, as they had to hold up as cupcakes.

So if I were to do it again, this is how I would go about it…but you’re free to learn from your own experiences and follow the Boozy Baker’s recipes as well!

Baking your cupcakes. I’m all for doctoring cake mixes. I CAN bake from scratch, but these days, I’m usually in a rush, and mixes are so much easier. Substitute part of the water required for booze when you make your white cake mix for the flavoring. And quite frankly, just adding an extra tablespoon of burbon on top of the full amount of water isn’t going to make your cake fall flat.

Frostings. If the flavor isn’t strong enough using 1/4 cup of alcohol, you can increase it in lieu of milk, just be mindful of the thickness of your frosting.

With that in mind–the recipes.

Mint Julep Cupcakes

Cake mix: Add 1 tablespoon burbon to cake mix.

Frosting: 1 3/4 sticks butter, 6-8 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup bourbon. Blend together with your mixer on high. If the frosting is still too stiff, add in a little bit of milk at a time, whipping the frosting between beatings.

Garnish with mint leaves.

Lemon Drop Cupcakes

Cake mix: Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice and a heaping tablespoon of lemon zest to cake mix. Or just use a lemon-flavored cake mix.

Frosting: 1 3/4 sticks butter, 6-8 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup Absolute Citron (what I used) or limoncello. Blend together with your mixer on high. If the frosting is still too stiff, add in a little bit of milk at a time, whipping the frosting between beatings.

Garnish with yellow sanding sugar and lemon zest.

Kalhua and Cream Cupcakes

Cake mix: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 teaspoon coffee liquor to cake mix.

Frosting: 1 3/4 sticks butter, 6-8 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup Kalhua. Blend together with your mixer on high. If the frosting is still too stiff, add in a little bit of milk at a time, whipping the frosting between beatings.

Garnish with cocoa powder and chocolate covered espresso beans or mini chocolate chips.

Berry Boozy Cupcakes

Cake mix: These were my favorite. After putting the cake mix in the liners, spoon a teaspoon or raspberry jam into the center of each cupcake, then bake. Strawberry jam also works if you don’t want to use raspberry (or don’t have it like I did.)

Frosting: 1 3/4 sticks butter, 6-8 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup raspberry liqueur. I used Framboise. Blend together with your mixer on high. If the frosting is still too stiff, add in a little bit of milk at a time, whipping the frosting between beatings.

Garnish with a raspberry.

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For more recipes, go to the  Cosmopolitan.com site or buy the The Boozy Baker: 75 Recipes for Spirited Sweets book!