In this post I bring you:
-Birthday Stout and Chocolate Cupcakes (Vegan)
-Guajillo Chili Chocolate Mexicano Cupcakes (Vegan)
-Honey and Whiskey Ice Cream
First up: Stout and Chocolate Cupcakes
It was one of my best friends birthdays at the begining of the month. We usually throw a mini birthday part at girls night to celebrate. My friend has recently really gotten into beer so I wanted to represent that in the sweet treat I made her. I found this recipe on Chef Chloe and I loved it! When I first googled "Beer Cupcakes" all I could find were recipes that were filled with sour cream, heavy cream, and multiple sticks of butter (not lying, one had 4 sticks of butter in the recipe!!). Now, I love food and sweets but I wanted a light cupcake that really showcased the rich and fizzy flavor of beer. I liked Chef Chloe's recipe because it was simple and cheap (I had all of the ingredients and only had to go out and buy one bottle of beer). I wasn't able to find a single selling bottle of Oatmeal Stout so I used Leinenkugal Brewery's Fireside Nut Brown. The cupcakes came out perfectly and I really enjoyed drinking the remaining bottle of Fireside Nut Brown :)
Second Up: Guajillo Chili Chocolate Mexicano Cupcakes (Vegan)
During February a local grocery store called Central Market had a Chocolate Festival. A coworker and I went and I ended up spending around $20 bucks on specialty chocolate. I purchased bacon chocolate, sweet Mexican vanilla chocolate and a guajillo chili chocolate. The vanilla and guajillo chocolate were both from Taza and while they were delicious they were a bit too grainy to be consumed on their own. I went to the Tazo website and found a vegan recipe for guajillo chili cupcakes. I liked this recipe because (again) I already had all of the ingredients (except for the lemon juice) so it was super cheap and easy. I ended up using some of the left over icing from the Stout Cupcakes. I also used some of the vanilla chocolate to make a sweet ganache for the cupcakes that I didn't have icing.
Up close
I've mentioned before that I've started seeing someone new. He's awesome and I'm constantly thinking of ways to show him how glad I am that he's in my life. Those ways are usually food. We're both big fans of whiskey so I wanted to find a recipe that included some kind of bourbon. When I found this recipe for Honey and Whiskey Ice Cream I was so freaking pumped. Besides loving whiskey we both are bananas for ice cream. So, I'm about to say (type?) some craziness. I really enjoyed this recipe but I want to tweak the way it's made because it tasted too much like whiskey. I can't even believe that I'm critical of anything for tasting too much like whiskey. I love whiskey! I was just disappointed that the sweet honey flavor was completely over powered. I plan on making a batch for my beach trip next week and I'm thinking that if I simmer the honey and whiskey together instead of mixing the whiskey straight into the whipping cream that both flavors will have a chance to shine.
Despite the pounds and pounds of sugar I've been consuming my body is still looking nice which is good because I'm one week away from sitting on a bright and sunny beach with my honey. I'll be posting about ways to save money while vacation soon!
