08 Nov Just Add Beer: Candied Ginger & Orange Wheat Ale Cupcakes
By Writing Community Member Michelle Blanton
One of my friends loves wheat ales, specifically, Upland’s wheat ale, and so since he had been so nice and asked me to bake him some cupcakes I knew I had to somehow take his favorite drink and make it into something really special, which is exactly what I did with these cupcakes.
For the Orange Cupcakes: (makes 12 cupcakes)
- 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs, broken into a small bowl
- Fresh squeezed orange juice, from 2 large oranges
- 1 tablespoon orange zest, from 1 large orange
- 1/4 cup wheat ale
- 1/4 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup full-fat sour cream
- 1 tablespoon candied ginger
Candied Ginger ButterCream Frosting
- 2 sticks
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 wheat ale (any kind will work).
- 1 tablespoon crystallized Ginger
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- Candy orange slices
Directions for Cupcakes: Place a baking rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake tin with 12 liners.
- Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In another medium-size mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the eggs, beating until combined. Add the flour mixture, orange juice, orange zest, orange extract, and vanilla, beating on low speed just until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Add the sour cream and ginger and beat again to incorporate, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Fill each prepared muffin cup with a rounded 1/3 cup batter, about 3/4 full. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the tops are just firm to the touch and a tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
- Leave the cupcakes in the pan on a rack to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Directions for Buttercream
- In a mixing bowl on high beat the butter until creamy.
- Turn the mixer down to low and add 3 cups of the confectioner’s sugar one by one until just combined followed by the wheat ale and then the final cup of confectioner’s sugar.
- On a medium speed add the orange juice, vanilla, and ginger.
- Pipe the icing on the cupcakes and then top them off with a candy orange.
- Enjoy!
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