One of my girlfriends asked if I could make some boozy cupcakes for her annual Christmas Party (9? years running). I looked through a variety of different recipes on the internet and kept circling back to the thought of keeping it simple, packed with flavor, and seasonal. One of my favorite winter drinks is a peppermint mocha, and who doesn’t love a steamy mug of cocoa topped with marshmallows or filled with some whipped cream?
For the base of my cupcake, I used my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. It is rich and chocolaty and always seems to be a crowd-pleaser. (The secret ingredient is coffee. Tasty, delicious dark coffee from a local roaster here in Richmond. Dark as Dark from Blanchards).
In my busy baking haste, I neglected to take photos as I was in the process of making these delightful concoctions. However, I’ll still do a quick overview before sharing the final product images.
After the cupcake base layer, I had intended to have a lovely light but stabilized whipped cream frosting. Friends, I met this task with failure, and I had a quick deadline. (Probably the reasons why I wasn’t busy snapping photos along the way).
Instead of my concept frosting, I went with an ol’ standby that is ALWAYS delicious, and ALWAYS turns out. Buttercream. I flavored it with equal parts vanilla and peppermint extracts. (As I had intended to do with the failed batch).
While the cupcakes were in the oven, I spread some chocolate out, added a layer of peppermint candy melts, generously sprinkled some crushed peppermint, and let it set up.
Once the cupcakes were cooled and frosted, I cut the peppermint bark into wedges and stabbed stuck the piece in the frosting.
The most fun part was adding the tiny bit of tipsy. I ordered some pettite pipettes. (They hold a volume of 4ml). For reference, there’s ~ 44ml in a standard shot. I added the pipette of peppermint schnapps, and the cupcakes were complete!
The best part was, they were popular enough to get a second order!
