Procrastination Recipe: Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

For the Superbowl party I attended, I was asked to bring a sweet item as so many people had already offered to bring savory snacks. So I thought, okay, it's a football party so if I could somehow include beer in the dessert that'd be great. So I went to my local packie in search of a stout. I was intending to buy Guinness but then I found a chocolate-orange stout. Hello!

Cake Ingredients:

Box cake mix

3 eggs

15.2 oz can of Chocolate-Orange Stout

I went with a triple-chocolate cake mix (not Gluten free since I was catering to a large group) for maximum chocolate effect. I mixed in the eggs first and then the can of stout in three increments, fully blending between.

Then I baked the cupcakes at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick could be inserted and removed cleanly. And voila, your cupcakes are done. Let them cool fully before icing.

Frosting Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons cocoa

pinch of sea salt

1.5 cups confectioner's sugar

* Optional: 1/4 cup of melted chocolate

I let the butter soften on the counter while I made the cupcakes, then I stirred in the cocoa until fully blended (above). It looks lick-able but don't be tempted, there's nothing sweet about it yet. Then add in a pinch of sea salt and the confectioner's sugar, a half of a cup at a time, stirring until completely blended. At this point you could add in some orange zest (I didn't have an orange at home but I might have added that in if I had) or, what I did, I melted some chocolate leftover from my Christmas stocking and incorporated that. Because why not just go all in with the chocolate in this dessert. 

This might be a controversial statement, but this frosting was the BEST. OF. MY. LIFE. So far. At the party, I wanted a cupcake so badly, but I didn't want to get sick from it so instead, I just licked the frosting off two of them. Go ahead, judge me. But it was so darn good! And the comments from the peanut gallery were nothing but overwhelmingly positive, including from a guy who apparently doesn't like sweets. So if you need to bring a dessert to a party then I highly suggest bringing these. You won't be disappointed. Trust me.

Happy Eating!
~Stephanie