Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I turned 25 last month.  I decided 25 is a pretty important number.  After all, it is a perfect square and I can now rent a car.  So I had a party and made these cupcakes.  They were a big hit.  It is hard to combine things like stout, chocolate, cupcakes and cream cheese and not have it be a big hit.  Rather than frost the cupcakes in advance, I made a cupcake decorating bar.  It may sound a little lame, but it was super fun.  To make it a little more sophisticated, instead of just food colors I put out some different flavorings (like vanilla, almond, Irish Cream and maple) and let people flavor their frosting too.  I sort of forgot to take any other pictures, though, as I was busy having a lot of fun.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

CUPCAKES
1 cup stout (I use Young's Double Chocolate Stout)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
1. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
2. 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.
3. Mix in flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined.
4. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way.
5. Bake cake in a 350 degree oven until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.
FROSTING
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 pound powdered sugar
1 tsp flavoring (such as vanilla, almond extract, Irish Cream, maple syrup)
1. Cream all ingredients together and spread on the cupcakes.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Print this recipe