Deliciously Deadly. Cupcakes, that is.

Why are these cupcakes deliciously deadly, you ask? I shall tell you. They are Devil's Food cupcakes (there's your first clue) with a whiskey caramel filling (second clue) and a salted whiskey caramel buttercream frosting (final clue). As my friend so dramatically labeled them, deliciously deadly. I made up these cupcakes this past weekend for one friend's fiance and another friend's boss basically as bribes. The fiance demanded something baked with chocolate and whiskey and caramel in exchange for getting his future wife for a whole weekend and the boss wanted something delicioius in exchange for letting my friend off early so she could drive up to my place (a 7 hour drive). Of course I obliged (not that I really needed an excuse to bake something with chocolate, whiskey, and caramel--3 of my favorite things). I used a classic, reliable Devil's Food cake recipe that I wrote down a few years ago in my ever-expanding notebook of favorite recipes then made up the whiskey caramel and buttercream recipes on the spot after browsing through numerous of each on Foodgawker  (my favorite website after Facebook).

These cupcakes were a hit with my friends and their respective blackmailers. Which is good because if they hadn't turned out I would have been slightly upset about using a whole cup of one of my good whiskeys. Oh yeah...I'm a whiskey girl. We counted...I have 7 bottles of whiskey in my cupboard--though in all fairness 3 of the 7 bottles were gifts. I'd also like to point out that 1 of the 7 is a bootleg rye and it is fantastic (and approx. 180 proof--it'll knock you on your ass). Be jealous.

Devil's Food Cupcakes (makes 32 cupcakes, though you can substitute a boxed cake mix, which would make 24)

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

3/4 cup hot water

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1  1/4 tsp coarse salt

1  1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter

2  1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs, room temp

4 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream, room temp

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together the cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to wire wracks and let cool completely before filling and frosting. Once they are completely cool, fill with whiskey caramel filling (recipe below) and top with salted whiskey caramel buttercream (recipe also below). When you're done making the whiskey caramel filling, reserve 1/3 cup of it to use in the buttercream frosting--the rest evenly distribute as cupcake filling. I find with this caramel sauce the easiest way to fill them is to cut little cone shapes down through the top of each cupcake and spoon filling in (and of course, eat the little cones while you're doing so).



Whiskey Caramel Filling

1 cup whiskey (better quality will equal better tasting caramel, just saying; I recommend Jack Daniels)

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Slowly add whiskey and half of the butter, stirring until butter melts. If you use a gas stove just remember that alcohol is flammable--be careful when adding the whiskey! I'd hate for these deliciously deadly cupcakes to actually become literally deadly (on that note, you also should not feed these to recovering alcoholics or people born with fetal alcohol syndrome or people who are allergic to alcohol). Next stir in the sugar and stir continuously until the sugar melts. Add the rest of the butter. Stir until the butter melts and continue to slowly stir until the caramel becomes thick (I stirred for around 10 minutes or so). Be careful not to scorch it. Pour the caramel into a heat-proof bowl and place uncovered in the fridge to thicken, about 1 hour. If you don't let the caramel thicken enough, it'll be super messy when you try to fill your cupcakes and the cupcakes will just absorb it throughout, instead of leaving you a nice, creamy center of delicious filling.

Salted Whiskey Caramel Buttercream

1 cup salted butter, room temp

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp heavy cream

1/3 cup whiskey caramel filling (recipe above)

Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until incorporated. Increase speed and whip 2-3 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Beat in heavy cream, then caramel sauce. Whip on high until light, smooth, and fluffy. Pipe onto filled cupcakes.