Beer! In Cupcake Form

This weekend my amazingly talented friend Meagan of Trippin: A Travelogue hosted a super swank dinner party for her closest girl friends. It was one of those straight-out-of-Waiting-to-Exhale evenings where you drink too much wine and someone tells a TMI sex story they regret the next day. She let me bring dessert and I agonized over what it should be. I wanted to make something that went along with her French-themed dinner but let’s face it, guys… French desserts are difficult. And then I thought, What do girls love? Girls love cupcakes. Stereotypical? Yeah. True? Yeah.

However… my friends are not your typical hair-twirling girly girls. So what could be more perfect for girls who drank a lot of wine and wore heels but also had the football game on in the background? Beer cupcakes.

On the menu:
Guinness cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
Makes 16 cupcakes, recipe from Cupcake Friday Project

1 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup Guinness

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Mix together sour cream and sugar. Add egg. Whisk together Guinness and melted butter. Slowly pour Guinness/butter mixture into sour cream/sugar/egg mixture. Spoon dry ingredients into wet ingredients and blend with an electric mixture until combined.

Line cupcake tin with liners and fill each cup halfway. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then remove and let sit on a wire rack until completely cooled.

Frosting:
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Blend together cream cheese and butter. Slowly add in powdered sugar and vanilla and blend until combined. Pipe onto completely cooled cupcakes and store in a cool place until serving.

Note: I have a confession to make, and I never… EVER do this… but I used reduced fat sour cream in the cake and reduced fat cream cheese for the frosting. And I dare anyone who ate one to tell me they could tell the difference.