Cupcakes & Cocktails

I recently attended an exceptionally fun Cupcakes & Cocktails class at the Boston Center for Adult Education! 14 or so students came together in a large, well-equipped kitchen to be guided through the creation of three cocktails and three alcohol-infused cupcakes. I had expected the class to be more of an intensive learning experience than it was, but I came away with a few good tips and more than a few good memories. While each student got their hands in the pot - or rather, the mixing bowls and the ovens - at least once throughout the course, I was unusually lucky by getting to craft all three cocktails in addition to performing the expected baking tasks. I guess that's what happens when you (unintentionally) take a seat by the drink station!

So, what did we make?

• Birthday Cake shots - pineapple juice, amaretto, and vodka shaken to the point of frothiness and then decanted into glasses, topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. This most cake-like of libations was simply adorable, and tasty too.
• Jello Shot cupcakes - strawberry box mix plus strawberries and coconut rum, baked and then drizzled with un-set (liquid) strawberry jello. The frosting was simply pulped strawberries mixed with butter and more than one bag of powdered sugar. The cupcakes were topped with small squares of "mosaic" jello, which was an aggregate of small cubes of different-flavored jellos mixed together with plain gelatin. The cake itself was slightly too moist for the comparatively-thin consistency of a box cake. I couldn't detect any coconut or rum flavors, but the strawberry flavor was out in full force thanks to the incorporated berries and colorful jello drizzle. The frosting was faintly berry-flavored, assertively sweet, and surprisingly stiff. The jello was, well, jello.
• Sangria - macerated apples, peaches, orange slices, and lemon wedges steeped in a mixture of shiraz spiced with cinnamon and cloves, Grand Marnier, and apple juice. The result was a good, dark, winey sangria with plenty of sweet and juicy fruit.
• Sangria cupcakes - melted chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and red wine mixed in to a standard cake recipe, baked, and then topped with wine frosting and wine-soaked fruit compote. The very dense, finely-crumbed cake was robustly chocolatey, and there was a hint of berry jam flavor thanks to the wine. I think this treat had the best cake of the three. The frosting was like eating a concentrated dessert wine (sugar-wise, not alcohol-wise!), and while several fruits were used in the boiled wine compote, only the pineapples retained their shape and distinctive flavor. The strawberries and blueberries were lost to the wine.
• Apple Cider hot toddies - hot mulled cider and a shot of whiskey poured over a pat of spiced butter, garnished with whipped topping, a cinnamon stick, and spiced graham cracker crumbs. The resultant drink was warm and comforting, with just the right balance achieved between a kick (generous spicing, alcohol) and smoothness (whipped topping and melting butter). The highlight of this drink was the butter, which had been softened in its plain state and then blended with brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. I'd love to make my own spiced butter, and use it for more than just drinks!
• Tiramisu cupcakes - vanilla buttermilk cupcakes cut in half, with espresso-Kahlua syrup poured over the cut edges. The cupcakes were then reassembled with a dollop of marscapone-Kahlua frosting holding the halves together. The tops of the cupcakes were decorated with another dollop of frosting, plus some chocolate shavings. This was an excellent cupcake! I love the dense yet creamy-smooth texture achieved when baking with buttermilk and cake flour. The coffee flavor additions really shone against the plain cake canvas, and the marscapone frosting was unexpectedly airy and creamily smooth. It had none of the crystalline, faintly-crunchy texture of the stawberry frosting, though similar quantities of powdered sugar were used. I thought it complemented the cake very well, and I enjoyed the fact that it used so much dairy - it was almost as if I were eating a latte instead of straight-up espresso.

Here are some pictures from the class!

I really appreciated getting to work on several involved baking recipes and trying my hand at mixology. I even got to helm a KitchenAid standalone mixer - the appliance of my dreams! - as it whipped up some delicious frosting for our little treats. While a to-go box of 12 leftover cupcakes and all remaining strawberry frosting were delicious takeaways from the class, I hope the more practical skill- and knowledge-oriented takeaways will have more staying power. What are some good tips that I learned in this class?

• Macerate your fruit. Toss the fruit you plan on using in baking, or a drink, with sugar, and let it sit for 20 minutes or so before use. The sugar, by creating a solvent imbalance with the fruit, draws the juices forth from the fruit and releases the fruit's flavor. I really noticed the beneficial difference made by this process in the sangria and the strawberry frosting.
• Spices are welcome anywhere. I feel like a whole new world has been opened to me now that I am acquainted with spiced butter.
• Use an ice cream scoop when filling cupcake liners. The amount of batter held by the 2oz. half-sphere scoop is usually just right, and if it isn't, it's a lot less messy to correct the amount with a clean-edged scoop than a runny spoon.
• Don't fill your cupcake liners more than 3/4 full. That may be common knowledge, but as a traditionally overenthusiastic filler it was good for me to hear.
• Frosting shouldn't flow. When whipping up frosting with a mixer or beater, you can tell it's ready when you lift the whisk attachment from the frosting. It should stay static, in a column of sugary goodness, between the elevated mixing apparatus and the bowl.

I do wish I had learned more about baking with alcohol, since it's not as simple as arbitrarily replacing a "dry" recipe's wet ingredients with spirits and such. Fortunately, I have a new cookbook that should educate me on that topic.
 
Here's to baking, drinking, and any combination of the two!