He suggested that I follow the Chicago theme and create something cool, but after thinking about it, I think instead of creating some fancy cupcake that may look cool, I decided to try my hand at spend my time creating a cupcake that tasted good instead. (I do have a toddler at home) So, I find out that his favorite beer is also one of my favorites as well: a locally brewed Pecan Porter. Quickly I find out that this beer is only sold on tap, and while it did cross my mind to order one and sneak it out of the restaurant, Steve convinced me that it was too much trouble and that I should find another beer to substitute.
I then thought about my other favorite beers with a similar flavor profile and came up with an oatmeal stout, which is tasty, but a bit more bitter. I thought I would round out the taste with some pecan pie filling (and maybe make it taste closer like a pecan porter).
Anyways, it was a success. The beer flavor in the cake was subtle, with most of the punch coming from the frosting. The pecan pie filling worked really well with the flavors of the beer. I can see why the brew masters at 512 brewing thought of this pecan porter.
I made these cupcakes in 2, 1-hour time chunks and made about 30 cupcakes. I do have a bunch of extra frosting left over, so you may want to top your cupcakes with extra frosting.
Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 bottle of beer minus one big swig (for quality control)
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 T vanilla extract
1/2 T hazelnut liqueur
2 eggs
3/4 c sour cream
1 1/3 c sugar
2.5 c AP flour
3/4 c cocoa powder
1.5 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Combine the liquid ingredients (minus the beer) in a mixer bowl.
3. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and then add the beer. Mix until everything is incorporated evenly. The batter will be a bit liquidy.
4. Use a ice cream scoop and fill each cupcake tin (lined with paper) with one scoop. This will fill it about 3/4 full.
5. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes and allow to cool.
Butter Pecan Filling
Group A
2 T cornstarch
1/4 c cold water
1/2 c brown sugar
3/4 c dark corn syrup
3 eggs
1/4 t salt
Group B
1 c chopped pecans
2 T bourbon
1 t vanilla extract
Procedure
1. In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients of group A and whisk together.
2. Place the saucepan on medium heat and whisk until the mixture boils. (Be sure to keep whisking so that the eggs don't solidify into a solid chunk).
3. Stir in the ingredients from group B and cool in the refrigerator.
4. Use an apple corer to take out some of the cake and fill the hole with the filling.
Oatmeal Stout Buttercream Frosting
The secret to creating fluffy buttercream frosting is to whip it, whip it good, and make sure the butter is at room temperature.
Ingredients
2- 12 oz. bottles of a dark beer (stout or porter)
3 sticks of butter at room temperture
1 T Nutella
3-4 T cream
1/2 t vanilla
1 T dark beer (a bit more or less is fine)
4.5 c powdered sugar
Procedure
1. In a saucepan, reduce the 2 bottles of beer down to a thick syrupy liquid. (I stopped after I reached about 4-5 T and then while it cooled, the syrup reduced even more). I did this step the night before.
2. Whip the butter until light and fluffy. It should be white in color.
3. Add the nutella, cream, and vanilla and mix to incorporate.
4. Slowly add the powdered sugar and when all is mixed in, you can add the beer syrup and whip well.
5. This last step is optional, but I felt that it gave a little bit of a boozy punch to the frosting. I added a splash of beer to the frosting towards the end. This made the frosting thinner, but it actually accentuated the beer flavor even further.
To keep with the Chicago theme, I decided to go with Chicago's football team the bears. I topped each cupcake with blue and orange sprinkles, a teddy graham cracker, and a candied pecan made to resemble a football.
Bourbon Candied Pecans
1 T bourbon
1 t dark beer
2 T brown sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
30 pecans
Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine all the ingredients except for the pecans in a small bowl.
3. Toss in the pecans and make sure each pecan is coated with the syrup.
4. Spread the pecans onto a lined baking sheet and bake 15-20 minutes (until the sugar caramelizes).
5. Allow the pecans to cool before topping them on the cake.