IronCupcake_010: Sam Adams Beer Bread "Cupcakes" w/ Beer Cheese "Frosting"

Iron Cupcake:Earth_010
Theme: Savory
My entry: Sam Adams Beer Bread "Cupcakes" w/ Beer Cheese "Frosting"
Voting begins: Saturday, May 30 @ http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/ and will be open through Friday, June 5 at 12 noon Central.

I'll admit when I first saw that the IC:E theme for the month was "savory" I was dissapointed. I'm not really a cook. I can cook, but I don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy baking desserts and sweet things. So the thought of making salty food shaped like a cupcake seemed bleh to me. But then it came to me... something I've always wanted to make... actually TWO things I've always wanted to make... and they would be very easy to make into a cupcake shape... BEER BREAD AND BEER CHEESE! Yes! It's a match made in heaven. I made the beer bread "cupcakes" using a quickbread recipe. Then I googled the basics of beer cheese and came up with my own recipe for the "frosting." While most people prefered to just dip pretzels into the beer cheese, the overall consensus was that these savory cupcakes are awesome!

PS: Check out the product placement in EVERY photo! *Ahem* Sam Adams, I'm expecting a paycheck soon! You're welcome!

I used Summer Ale in both the "cupcakes" and the "frosting." It was perfect! Boozed up cupcakes ready to be baked!
Cooling and smelling like yeast bread!
Like my makeshift breadbasket? A pyrex bowl and a lint-free dish towel!
Yum!!

Beer Bread "Cupcakes" (adapted from Beer Bread I recipe @ allrecipes.com)
3 cups self-rising flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 12-ounce beer, bottled or canned

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, mix together flour and sugar. Add beer and stir with a wooden spoon until blended. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until tops are crunchy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove "cupcakes" from pan. Serve warm or let them cool on a wire rack.

Beer Cheese "Frosting" (my own recipe)
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 cups (8 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch of cracked black pepper
1/2 cup beer, at room temperature

Using a hand mixer, blend the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic, and black pepper. Slowly add the beer. Mix on low speed to incorporate. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.



Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH
Something sweet and dangly from CHERRYCREEKCHARMS
Also, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
SWEET CUPPIN CAKES CUPCAKERY will be tossing in sweet surprise.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers

IronCupcake_008: "Beer & Peanuts" Cupcakes

Iron Cupcake:Earth_008
Theme: Nuts & Seeds
My 2nd entry: Beer & Peanuts Cupcakes
Voting begins: Sunday, March 29 at 8 pm Central @ http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/ and will be open through Friday, April 3 at 12 noon Central.


Wow, is this last minute or what!? The deadline is 12 central, which is 1pm eastern... Let's see if I click "Publish Post" before time runs out! The inspiration for these cupcakes came from a recipe in Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman. I didn't use her recipe, but ever since I saw "Beer and Peanuts Cupcakes" in her book, I've wanted to make my own variation of the idea. My cupcakes are chocolate beer cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. I used Nigella Lawson's recipe for Chocolate Guinness Cake. I'm not sure exactly how it's written in her book, because when I googled the recipe it was a little different on every blog I looked at. This is the one I found on the Borders bookstore website. It's supposedly an exerpt from the book, so I bet it's right. I halved the recipe and got 14 cupcakes. For the frosting, I made up a recipe off the cuff, but I wish I'd gone back and used the recipe from Bake & Destroy that I love so much. Overall, I'm fairly pleased with these cupcakes. They are extremely moist (verging on gummy because of all the liquid in the recipe). They aren't incredibly chocolatey, but that's okay because I wasn't focusing on the chocolate anyway. I wish the beer flavor was a little more prominent. I blame myself for that, though. We didn't have any Guinness on hand so I used the darkest beer we had, wish was an Irish Red. Not dark enough for this recipe I guess. Here they are, my second Iron Cupcake entry for this month!

Chocolate Beer Cupcakes (adapted from Nigella Lawson's "Chocolate Guinness Cake")
(I halved this and got 14 cupcakes)

1 cup Guinness (or any dark beer)
¾ cup sour cream
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups superfine sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and butter and line a 9 inch springform pan (or put 14 paper liners in a muffin pan). Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter – in spoons or slices – and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and baking soda.

Pour the cake batter into the lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour (14-16 minutes for cupcakes). Leave to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

Peanut Butter Frosting (my own recipe)

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Blend butter and peanut butter until smooth. Sift in confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed. Add milk and increase speed to high. Beat for 1 minute.


Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 3

Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
A Bunnycake Easter Plushie by DOGBONEART
A whimsical piece by CAKEASAURUS
A pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
Also, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in a collection of all new printed cupcake liners, 200 in all.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers