Whiskey Cupcakes

We helped Tyler's brother move from one end of Tennessee to the other. I wanted to bring a housewarming gift, and I came up with this recipe. On one of our trips we took down there, he took us to the Jack Daniels Distillery. It was a fun experience, and enjoyed the tasting room lined with all of their hand-made oak barrels filled with their aging whiskey.

This recipe is adapted from www.delectablebakehouse.com. The whiskey and coffee make them super moist and the caramel frosting makes them more unique than the average cupcake.

1. Ingredients
2. 
   
3. 2 cups flour
4. 3/4 cup cocoa or cacao powder. I used cacao powder. It adds an intense chocolate flavor which came out wonderfully in these cupcakes. Cacao powder has it's health benefits as well (as long as you don't put them in cupcakes all of the time :) ).  Because cocoa is processed at a higher temperature than cacao, the difference is the nutrients are more depleted than cacao. 
5. 2 cups sugar
6. 2 tsp baking soda
7. 1 tsp baking powder
8. 1 tsp salt
9. 2 eggs
10. 1/2 cup super strong coffee, cooled. I made a cup in my french press with a dark espresso roast. The stronger, the better :).
11. 1/2 cup Jack Daniel’s Whiskey, plus more for brushing onto tops of cakes. I used the last bit of whiskey I had on hand to make this recipe, which made me sad. Until I ate these cupcakes.
12. 1 cup buttermilk. I do not have buttermilk on hand ever. So I used almond milk, and added 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to it and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
13. 1/2 cup vegetable oil

For the frosting

1. 2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter at room temperature
2. 8 ounces of cream cheese
3. 3-4 cups powdered sugar
4. 1 cup caramel sauce or salted caramel topping. I used Hershey's caramel syrup.
5. 1/2 - 1 tsp kosher salt (if you use a salted caramel topping, you will want to omit the salt)
6. caramel candies or melts, chopped, for garnish (I used Wilton Salted Caramel candy melts)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with paper cups.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, cacao powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, coffee and whiskey, "buttermilk" and oil.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake cups. Fill no more than 2/3 full.
6. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes until the tops spring back when lightly pressed.
7. Let cool and then brush the tops with more whiskey using a pastry brush.
8. To make frosting, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy.
9. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar into the butter/cream cheese mixture and beat to combine.
10. In a separate bowl, add salt to caramel and mix well, unless you use salted caramel topping. Add the salted caramel to frosting mixture and beat to combine.
11. Add additional powdered sugar until the frosting is the sweetness and consistency you desire.

Use a silicone/baking spatula to spread the frosting on the cooled cupcakes. This recipe makes a lot of frosting so be generous. It's delicious! Sprinkle the chopped candies on top.