Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

It's my brother's birthday, so in honor of my alcohol-loving brother's birthday, I decided to make chocolate stout cupcakes. How appropriate is that?

I almost don't want to share this recipe. It's THAT good. It's ridiculously good. It's the best chocolate cupcake recipe-EVER. The crumb is fine, it's super rich and moist, but it's not dense. The flavor is subtle yet deep. It's not overly sweet. The stout just enhances the flavors somehow, someway. I could eat it plain. They say it's more of an "adult" flavor because of the beer, but I don't think so. You can't taste the beer. I asked 13 of my guests that ate it and none of them could taste it. My 2 year old nephew scarfed it down without any trouble and he is probably one of my most honest critics!

HOWEVER, I served it with a beer float. Not a root beer float, but a beer float. I used vanilla bean ice cream and topped it off with Guiness beer. It was the perfect compliment to the cupcake.

I honestly think my mission to find the ultimate chocolate cupcake is over.

This is yet another recipe from epicurious.com. The recipe is actually supposed to be a cake, but I made it into cupcakes. I also halved the entire recipe and it still made 24 cupcakes. Here's the original recipe which will make 48 cupcakes or 3 layered cakes. The original recipe does not include instant coffee, but I think coffee brings out the chocolate flavor so I added it. When you pour the batter into the cupcake tins, fill it about 3/4 of the way up. No more than that-or it will overflow and stick together. Make sure it's evenly poured into the liners or they will rise crooked.

As for the frosting, I didn't cut the portions in half. I made all of it and had some left over, but I piped it on pretty thick. If you don't plan to use a lot of frosting, then half of it would do fine. You must let it set for at least 2 hours. I left it in my fridge for about 4 hours and it set up perfectly.

Cupcakes
serves 48 cupcakes or 3 round layered cakes

* 2 cups stout (such as Guinness)
* 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
* 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
* 1/2 tsp instant coffee (My own addition)

* 4 cups all purpose flour
* 4 cups sugar
* 1 tablespoon baking soda
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 4 large eggs
* 1 1/3 cups sour cream



Icing

* 2 cups whipping cream
* 1 pound bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

For cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 48 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Bring 2 cups stout and 2 cups butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter equally among cupcake liners. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 19-22 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack; cool 10 minutes. Take cupcakes out onto rack and cool completely.

For icing:
Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Refrigerate until icing is spreadable, stirring frequently, about 2 hours.

When icing has set, pipe onto cupcakes. We chose to top it with a strawberry slice which was a nice balance.

You must make this cupcake! Enjoy!