Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

Hi loves!

Guess what I made?! Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream! My little cousins have been BEGGING me to make these cupcakes for about a year now! I don't know why, but I just never got around to making them! Well, a few weeks ago, my little cousin got some very good news, so I promised her and her sister that I would finally make their beloved cupcakes for them to celebrate! 

While these are a little time consuming, they aren't very difficult! And the time spent is well worth it, because they're always a huge hit! 

Here is what you'll need for the cupcakes:

1 Cup of Stout (I used Rogue Chocolate Stout)

1 Cup of Unsalted Butter (2 Sticks)

3/4 Cup of Cocoa Powder

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour

2 Cups of Sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons of Baking Soda

3/4 teaspoon of Salt

2 Large Eggs

2/3 Cup of Sour Cream

Here is what you'll need for the Frosting:

1/2 Cup of Solid Vegetable Shortening

1/2 Cup of Butter (softened)

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

4 Cups of Confectioners Sugar

2 Tablespoons of Milk

1/3 Cup of Caramel + extra for drizzling

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare cupcake pans with 24 liners

2. In a large saucepan on the stove, bring stout and butter to a simmer over medium heat.

3. Add cocoa powder to saucepan and whisk thoroughly to combine with butter and stout mixture until smooth.

4. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool down a bit.

5. In a large bowl, combine, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt until combined. Set aside.

6. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and sour cream (in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer) just slightly until combined.

7. Add stout, butter, and cocoa mixture to egg and sour cream mixture and beat just until combined.

8. Slowly add flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt mixture and beat slowly until combined.

9. Fill cupcake liners with batter about 2/3 of the way full.

10. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

11. Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool on a baking rack completely.

12. While cupcakes are cooling, beat shortening, butter, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixture until combined and creamy.

13. Slowly add confectioners sugar and beat until well combined. 

14. Add milk as needed to reach desired consistency.

15. Add caramel to buttercream mixture and beat until well combined.

16. Frost cooled cupcakes.

17. Drizzle with remaining caramel (optional)

Just as I thought, everyone loved the cupcakes at our family get together and my little cousins were excited to finally have their wish fulfilled! These are perfect for a special get together with friends or family, and go over big with both kids and adults! Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Thanks for reading!

♥Nichole

*The cupcake recipe was adapted from Pixelated Crumb and the Buttercream recipe was adapted from Wilton.

Strawberry Red Velvet Cupcakes

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to share my first baking post with you today! These little babies also have kind of a funny story behind them! Hopefully you enjoy both :)

When my boyfriend and I started dating two years ago, he took me on a "dessert date" one night. He knew that I love to bake and we were talking about our favorite desserts. He kept telling me about this Strawberry Red Velvet Cupcake that he had while he was on vacation in California. I had never heard of such a thing... and the "baking snob" in me was convinced that he was mistaken... "He probably just thought it was strawberry flavored because it was red or there was a strawberry on top!", was the conversation I was having with myself in my head! But, over the course of the next year, this damn cupcake kept coming up in conversation. I decided that I had to look in to the "supposed" cupcake and figure out how to make them for his birthday!
I started my search for a recipe on Pinterest (because Pinterest is my happy place, of course) and I came across the perfect recipe from Your Cup Of Cake (which is a great blog, and you should totally check it out).  The cupcakes turned out perfectly and were a huge hit! They made for a really nice birthday surprise that he wasn't expecting!
We were having our friends over for a little BBQ last weekend and when I asked him what desserts I should make, without any hesitation he said, "How about those strawberry red velvet cupcakes again?". Haha! So needless to say, the man got his Strawberry Red Velvet cupcakes! I have adapted this recipe from Your Cup Of Cake's Strawberry Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe.

What you'll need for the cupcakes:

1 Box of Red Velvet cake (I used Duncan Hines)

3 Eggs

1/2 Cup of butter, melted and cooled

1/2 Cup of Strawberries pureed in blender (food processor works too)

1/4 Cup of Milk (I used Vanilla Almond Milk)

2/3 Cup of Sour Cream (or plain yogurt)

1 tsp. of Vanilla Extract

What you'll need for the frosting:

1/2 Cup of butter, softened

8oz. Cream cheese

2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

4 Cups of Confectioners Sugar

*Extra Strawberries for decoration (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare cupcake tins with liners

2. Combine eggs, melted and cooled butter, strawberry puree, milk, sour cream, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl. 

3. Slowly add cake mix and incorporate well with the wet ingredients

4. Fill cupcake liners 1/2-3/4 of the way full and bake for 18-24 minutes

5. Begin cream cheese frosting by beating softened butter, cream cheese, and vanilla

6. Slowly add confectioners sugar about a 1/2 Cup at a time (you can add a bit more confectioners sugar if you want a thicker frosting)

7. Pipe frosting on to cooled cupcakes

Baking isn't always pretty... 

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I (and my boyfriend!) do! I know I will continue to bake these when we need a sweet treat for a special occasion... or, you know whenever ;)

Thanks for reading and don't forget to share the blog with your friends on social media!

♥ Nichole