Recipe adapted from Dave Leiberman
This is a chocolate cake recipe that I have used for many years now. The originally recipe calls for sour cream....which I find completely and utterly disgusting. I also forgot that the recipe called for this, as it’s been a couple years since I last made it....so I didn’t have sour cream. Instead, I added an extra egg and was quite pleased with the result. Typically, this cake tends to be overly moist and crumbly. This was not so with my alteration and was a lot easier to work with.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa, plus more for dusting finished cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch fine salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups of the beer of your choice
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.
In another medium mixing bowl, combine the stout, melted butter, and vanilla.
Beat in eggs, 1 at time.
Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.
Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Place approximately ⅓ cup of batter into each tin. Bake for about 10 minutes and then rotate the pans. Bake another 10 to 11 minutes until risen, nicely domed, and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out.
Frosting
The beer that I chose to use didn’t have as much chocolate flavor as I wanted, but the honey and spice notes were there. I decided that I wanted to emphasis that with my frosting, so I chose to make a honey spice frosting.
1 stick softened butter
2 ½ to 3 cups powdered sugar
2 tbls honey (I used a pepper honey, which I picked up from The Bee Folks)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp chili powder
Cocoa nibs for garnish
Cream the butter and powdered sugar together, ½ cup of sugar at a time. When you reach the desired consistency, add cinnamon and chili powder. Frost cupcakes when cool and sprinkle with cocoa nibs.
The honey made the frosting extremely sweet, which was a good match for the less sweet cupcakes. The cupcakes themselves were dark and chocolately with a hint of the beer flavor. Had I used a darker beer (like the guiness or stout the recipe is typically used with), I might have been able to taste the beer a bit more. The spice in the frosting is subtle, but the honey and chili went well together, as the honey I used already had notes of spice in it. The cocoa nibs on top tied it all together with their dark chocolate, totally unsweet crunch.
Why, hello there unopened bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips! I know you were purchased with chocolate chip cookies or chocolate chunk brownies in mind, but that’s just too bad. Today, you are being used for other, less noble purposes. Today, I am eating you straight out of the bag. No, it’s not a special occasion or anything. It’s just another Tuesday.
Ok, maybe it’s not just another Tuesday, but I refuse to name the stupid holiday that is being celebrated today. Instead, I will turn to chocolate to make me feel better. Which begs the question, why chocolate?
Here’s a list of some of the health benefits of chocolate. Thanks google.com!
It contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant.
It contains theobromine and caffeine, which act as stimulants.
It stimulates endorphin production, which produces a feeling of pleasure.
It contains about 8x more antioxidants than strawberries.
It can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
(Source: http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongnutrition/p/chocolate.htm)
Is it any wonder that women turn to chocolate? I mean, I’ve never met a man that can do all of those things for me.
A bag of chocolate can do everything a significant other could do for me and more:
Endorphins? Check.
Who needs sex to get those endorphins going? With chocolate, there’s no hassle. Guess who has to sleep in the wet spot tonight? No one, because I am sleeping alone, just me and my bag of chocolate.
Happiness? Check.
Chocolate gives me all the serotonin that I’m not getting from a meaningful and fulfilling relationship. Hooray!
Keeps me warm at night? Check.
Chocolate contains caffeine, which acts as a stimulant, gently increasing your heart rate and thus, potentially raising your body temperature. There’s not a lot of science to back that claim up, but for me, it’s definitely true. If anyone has ever seen me after three cups of coffee, I am sweaty and jittery and talking a mile a minute. The caffeine in chocolate doesn’t hit me quite so hard, but the effect is still there. Plus, chocolate helps me build fat cells to keep me nice and insulated, as well as single because I have gained 80000 pounds. Thanks, chocolate!
Makes me dinner? Check.
What? Ladies, don’t act like you’ve never eaten a dinner consisting solely of the sugar/fat category on the food pyramid.
Self esteem? Check.
When I walk into a room with my bag of chocolate, everyone is jealous. They all want a piece of my chocolate, but it’s mine, all mine.
Unconditional Love. Check.
My bag of chocolate loves me and thinks I am perfect in every way. It’s always there for me. It has to be, because it can’t drive. Thus, it can never leave me. Ever. Unless I eat it all.
Hey, you know what else chocolate can do for me? It can treat me like a lady. What do I mean by that? I mean chocolate will never raise a hand to me in anger.
I’m looking at you, Chris Brown.
Chocolate is also not disguised as a healthy food option.
Yeah, chocolate vs. salad. I’m going to go with the chocolate on this one. See, this is why I don’t eat salad. Please note that this is for THREE chocolate bars, each chocolate bar being a single serving.
Chocolate. Better than men, healthier than salad. And also, less abusive. This year, I’m giving my love to chocolate. Now...what do I get it for Valentine’s day?
The beer that I chose to use didn’t have as much chocolate flavor as I wanted, but the honey and spice notes were there. I decided that I wanted to emphasis that with my frosting, so I chose to make a honey spice frosting.
