I was searching online for some liquored up cupcakes because that is my new thing to do lately.
I bought a couple mini bottles of Kahlua and Baileys and found a recipe for some Chocolate Kahlua Cupcakes. They sounded interesting, so I ended up making them, and WOW!
The cake is light and fluffy and not too sweet. I hate super sweet things so these were perfect! The frosting recipe called for only Kahlua but I think Bailey's goes so well with Kahlua that I decided to combine the two and WOW AGAIN!
These would be the perfect little breakfast cupcakes, with a cup of coffee in the morning. I don't even like chocolate so it really says a lot about these. The only thing I would change next time is the water/Kahlua mix (which I've put my revised version in the recipe). I would probably just use Kahlua, as I think the Kahlua flavor gets a little lost with the chocolate. It wasn't quite strong enough of a flavor for me in the end. There are a few other things I already changed with the recipe as I made them, so I wrote out my revised version of it.
I halfed the recipe below and it gave me 10 regular sized cupcakes. If you want to make the recipe for the 20 cupcakes, I would double the frosting recipe below, as I made it just how it says and it covered 10 perfectly.
I hope you try these out and let me know how they turn out for you!
Kahlúa Cupcakes
Makes 20 cupcakes (1/2 recipe makes 10 cupcakes)
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (see my "tips" below for caster sugar)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/2 cup cold water (*revised: skip water, use 1 cup Kahlua, or 3/4c. Kahlua & 1/4c. water)
1/2 cup Kahlúa
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Insert 20 liners into a cupcake pan.
2. In a large bowl cream together the butter, cocoa, and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and creamy, 3-5 minutes. Add vanilla and mix for 15 seconds. Add egg yolks and beat for 4 minutes.
3. In a small bowl mix water and Kahlúa.
4. In another large bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, then 1/2 of the Kahlua mixture. Then add another 1/3 dry, the other 1/2 Kahlua. Then end with the rest of the dry. Mix on medium speed until ingredients are just combined. Do not overbeat.
6. With clean beaters and a large bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until they form soft peaks. Gradually beat in about 1/4 cup of sugar to make a meringue with stiff peaks, about 6-7 minutes. Do not overbeat. With a rubber spatula, fold the meringue into the batter.
7. Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcake comes out clean. Turn pan upside down to remove cupcakes, and cool.
8. OPTIONAL, BUT MAKES IT BETTER: Remove cupcakes from pan. Poke a bunch of holes in the tops of each cupcake with a toothpick. Spoon a teaspoon of Kahlua (or brush) onto the tops of each cupcake.
TIPS:
-Bake immediately after combining the meringue into the batter. Do not let sit for too long after or else they may not rise properly.
-Also, these rise a LOT, so fill cups to halfway or a tiny bit more.
-I like to bake with caster sugar. I make my own in my Magic Bullet (you can use a blender or food processor, too): Measure out the granulated white sugar and process until finely ground. Re-measure out the amount needed for recipe and use that. You tend to get a little bit more sugar after grinding it than when first measured.
Chocolate Kahlúa Whipped Cream:
This must be refrigerated!
1 cup cold heavy cream
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp Kahlúa (a little more or less to taste)
2 tbsp Baileys (a little more or less to taste)
Sift together cocoa and confectioners sugar. Beat heavy cream until slightly thickened. Add Kahlúa, vanilla, and cocoa/sugar mix. Beat until desired consistency. Pipe onto cupcakes, and garnish with cute little bittersweet chocolate chips (optional).
TIPS:
-Chill the beaters and mixing bowl in the freezer for about 15 minutes before making the frosting, to make it thicken up easier.
http://en.petitchef.com/