"Old-Fashioned" Cupcakes

My friend Martin, in honor of this 27th birthday, decided to host a St. Patrick's Day brunch this past Saturday. It was a potluck brunch so everyone brought a whole slew of delicious fare, both sweet and savory. Brunch is a somewhat regular event among our friends, but since this one was a special celebration, I thought I should make cupcakes.

I was debating about what type of cupcake I should make, and I knew classic chocolate or vanilla was not going to cut it. Martin makes a mean old-fashioned and I thought it only appropriate to celebrate his birthday with an interpretation of his favorite cocktail. Plus, it was St. Patrick's day, so why wouldn't I include in my cooking that most Irish of elixir, Whiskey?

The classic old-fashioned gets its flavor from maraschino cherries and oranges muddled with whiskey. This is mixed with a bit of simple syrup, bitters, and served on the rocks. When I make an old-fashioned I usually use maple syrup instead of the simple syrup; I find the earthy flavors of the maple syrup really mesh well with the oak flavors in the whiskey. Thus, I ended up making a vanilla-maple cake, which I then drizzled with maraschino-whiskey syrup. I topped all of this with more maraschino-maple-whiskey-flavored frosting and garnished with a slice of orange and a cherry on top.

Me with the finished product. 

"Old-fashioned" Cocktail Cupcakes
Adapted from Cakespy's adaptation of Cupcake Royale's recipe
Makes ~ 18 cupcakes


For the Cake:
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract (1 1/2 tsp)
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs at room temperature

For the Frosting:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup whiskey
3 tbsp maraschino cherry juice
5 cups confectioners sugar

Thinly sliced orange halves and maraschino cherries for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Fahrenheit. Grease or line a muffin tin with baking cups.

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. While butter and sugar are beating, in a small bowl combine sour cream, milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract. In a separate small bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

Once butter and sugar are done turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add one of the eggs and beat on low until the egg is incorporated into the butter and sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat procedure with with remaining two eggs. Once the eggs are incorporated, add the milk mixture and mix until well incorporated. Turn off the mixer and half of the flour. Turn back on low and gently mix until flour is just incorporated into liquid ingredients. Turn off mixer, scrape down sides and add the rest of the flour. Mix again on low until flour is just incorporated into batter. You do not want to over mix the flour as this will make dense, chewy cakes.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. If you prefer smaller cupcakes that just come up to the top of the pan, only fill the tins about 2/3 high. If you prefer larger cupcakes that puff up over the top a bit, fill the tins about 3/4 of the way up. Bake the cakes for about 22-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean,

While the cakes are still warm, poke holes in the top of the cake with a toothpick and slowly spoon the whiskey-maple syrup over top so that it soaks into the cake.

Let the cakes cool and whip the butter, maple syrup, whiskey, maraschino cherry juice and half of the powdered sugar with an electric mixer. The mixture will probably be a bit runny and not completely uniform. Slowly add the remainder of the powdered sugar, 1/4c at a time until the frosting is thick fluffy and uniform. Let it rest for about 10 minutes. Carefully beat the frosting on the lowest speed possible to knock out some of the large air bubbles. Spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with large tip of choice and decorate the cupcakes as desired.