Chocolate Bourbon Old Fashioned Cupcakes

An Old Fashioned is a classic cocktail dating back to the early 1800s. It is composed of bourbon, bitters, sugar (or simple syrup) and orange zest (an orange peel & possibly a maraschino cherry for garnish). It was considered a "morning" drink because it was a lighter, sweeter variation of hard spirits (Oh, do I love America!) . Old Fashioneds are considered "The original cocktail" and may they never go out of style!

 

 

 

 

 

These are probably one of my favorite cocktails to make and my favorite cupcakes to make! We first made these for our friend Brandon's birthday. I found the recipe from Stasty! There is so much bourbon in this recipe I just love it! Also, I love that this recipe is in both cups & grams, I like to weigh out my dry ingredients when possible to get the best consistency.

 

 

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

½ cup / 110g butter, at room temperature
½ cup / 100g cup sugar
2 large eggs
1½ cups /200g of gluten free flour *
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup / 50g of cocoa
½ cup / 120ml milk
Few drops of vanilla essence
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Zest of 1 orange, finely chopped
3 tablespoons bourbon

Icing

½ cup / 110g butter, at room temperature
1 and ½ cups / 200g icing sugar
4 teaspoons of bourbon
4 dashes of bitters
Zest of half an orange, finely chopped

 

Ganache

100g / 3.5 oz bar of dark chocolate
2/3 cup / 120 ml of cream
1 tablespoon of bourbon
Zest of half an orange, finely chopped
25g/ 2 tablespoons of butter

Decoration

Maraschino cherries
Orange peel, sliced into thin slivers and curled

Method

Cupcakes

Begin by preheating the oven to 350 F / 180 C. Place 12 cupcake liners in a muffin tray. In a large bowl, sieve together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa. Leave aside. In a second bowl, mix together the milk, vanilla, orange juice, orange zest, bourbon and leave to one side.

Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. With the beater still running add the eggs, one at a time, ensuring each egg is fully combined before adding the next one. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl. Keeping the mixer on low, then add half the flour mixture and half the liquids. Beat together, then add the remaining flour and liquids, and beat together until fully combined.

Divide the batter into the prepared cupcake cases and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minute. To test if the cupcakes are ready, place a tooth pick in the centre of the cupcake. Once the toothpick comes out clean, the cupcakes are done. Allow the cupcakes to cool for a few minutes in the tin, before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

Ganache

As the cupcakes are cooling, you can make the ganache. Heat the chocolate slowly in a bowl over a saucepan of just simmering boiling water. In a separate small saucepan, heat the cream until it is just starting to simmer. Add the bourbon and orange zest to the cream. Once the chocolate has melted, add the hot cream to it and leave to melt in for 5 minutes. Then add the butter and allow to melt slowly. Finally, take a mini hand whisk and whisk the chocolate, cream, and melted butter together until it has emulsified into a smooth thin chocolate paste. Leave the ganache to cool. It needs to be thick and fully cold in order to pipe.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, use an apple corer to bore out a small hole in the center of each cupcake. You don’t want to go right through to the bottom, just about two thirds of the way. Then scoop out any remaining crumbs in your chocolate tunnel  with a small spoon.

 

Icing

To make the frosting, place the butter and icing sugar in a stand mixer. Mix on low until the butter has softened and melted into the sugar. Then, turn the mixer up and beat the icing until it is soft and fluffy. Add the bourbon, bitters, orange zest and beat the icing again. If the icing is too thin, add a little more icing sugar. It should be spreadable like a paste.

Using a piping bag with a small nozzle, pipe the chocolate ganache into the holes in the center of each cupcake. Then, using a different piping bag, with a slightly larger nuzzle, pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake. Garnish with a maraschino cherry and a curl of orange peel.