Boozy Baking: Cosmopolitan Cupcakes

Jo 's baking masterpiece!

On my desk at work is a mug which reads 'Keep Calm And Eat A Cupcake', encouraging me to spend a significant amount of time (probably too much) thinking about cupcakes and what I'm going to bake on the weekend. I also spend a lot of time browsing cocktail recipes for exciting new concotions. Put two and two together and you've pretty much got my idea of heaven - cocktail cupcakes.

Last weekend I experimented with Cosmopolitan cupcakes - the ultimate girly cake and perfect for when the girls drop in. Have I timed this well given that it's Valentine's Day on Friday (oh, really?) and sisterhoods all over the country will be throwing their hands in the air and screaming about how they don't need men to be awesome?

It's pretty simple...make Cosmopolitans, make cakes using some of the Cosmo, bake cakes, drink excess Cosmo while cakes cool, add Cosmo flavoured icing then voila, you can present your baking prowess to the girls and continue to drink Cosmos into the wee hours of the morning.

While we're all about the boozy baking here at Vinspire, you could make a non-alcoholic version by leaving out the vodka and triple sec and adding a dash more cranberry and lime.

Cosmopolitan cocktail recipe

You'll need...
2 parts vodka
1 part triple sec
1.5 parts cranberry juice
Juice of half a lime

How to...
Combine all in a cocktail shaker with ice. Sake vigorously and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a wedge of lime.
*Note, if making to add to the cake mix or icing, you don't need to use ice!

Cosmopolitan cupcakes

You'll need...

For cakes
100g butter at room temperature
2 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup plain flour
3/4 cup Cosmopolitan cocktail
Dash of vanilla extract
Dash of pink or red food colouring

For icing
100g butter at room temperature
2 cups icing sugar (I ran out so used 1 cup icing sugar and 1 cup caster sugar!)
1/4 cup Cosmopolitan cocktail
Dash of pink or red food colouring

How to...

Cakes

1. Pre heat oven to 180 degrees celcius
2. Line a muffin tray with large cupcake or muffin cases
3. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy
4. Add eggs and beat until combined
5. Sift flour into the wet mix and combine
6. Add Cosmopolitan, vanilla extract and food colouring until combined and mix is smooth
7. Sppon mixture into cases until about 3/4 full
8. Bake for 20 minutes in the centre of the oven
9. Take out to cool on a wire rack

Icing

1. In a medium bowl combine icing sugar, butter, Cosmopolitan and food colouring
2. Mix until combined and icing is creamy

To complete, pipe the icing onto cakes (when cooled) and garnish with lime zest. Serve with Cosmopolitans (naturally!) or a decent brew if it's too early for cocktail hour.

Have you experimented with cocktail cupcakes? Let us know, we think we need to try some more!