Chocolate Kahlua Cupcakes

It's always fun to make a dessert that has a little booze inside. I found a recipe for chocolate Kahlua cupcakes at Annie's Eats. I decided to make these as mini cupcakes. The cupcakes with the plain frosting in the foreground are the Kahlua and the ones in the background of the photo with the sprinkles are plain, for the kids.

The test batch came out so great that I made these to take to a girl get together. Always fun to serve liqueur infused desserts. **These are mini sized cupcakes.

Here are directions for a 1/2 recipe.

Cake

3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp espresso powder

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/8 tsp baking powder

3/8 tsp salt

1 egg

3/8 cup water

3/8 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

for brushing the cupcakes:

Kahlua liqueur

Frosting

6 Tbsp butter

2 cups confectioners sugar

3-4 Tbsp Kahlua

1 Tbsp heavy cream

Directions

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line standard cupcake pans with paper liners. In a large mixing bowl combine the cocoa powder, espresso powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt; whisk well to blend. Add the eggs, warm water, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high speed until smooth, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake until the tops spring back when pressed lightly, about 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Poke a few holes in the top of each cupcake with the tines of a fork and brush with Kahlua while still warm. Allow to cool completely.

To make the frosting, beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated. Add in the Kahlua and beat on medium speed until well blended. Add in the heavy cream and beat on medium-high speed for about 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Source: cupcakes and frosting from Annie’s Eats