Cinco de Baking: Loaded Corona Cupcakes
Editor’s Note: Snebbu will be bringing you more of his 100 ways to use beer in food and drinks shortly, but first: a brief holiday interruption. With Cinco de Mayo just around the corner, longtime ES reader Pyrles joins us with a holiday recipe that combines two of our favorite things: cupcakes…and beer!
When people think about beers to include in baked treats, I’m guessing Corona doesn’t often come to mind. In fact, I cannot myself explain why I thought this was a good idea in the first place. Even making the batter, I had my doubts. The first whiff of what a friend deemed “skunk beer” when I opened the bottle nearly made me scrap the idea entirely. But for whatever reason — in this case, love of a good challenge and desire to turn a favorite drink into a dessert — I made the cupcakes. And they are wonderful.
As I’ve come to expect from throwing beer into my cake batter, the cupcakes’ texture is fantastic: moist, but not dense. The Corona flavor comes through, but it is muted enough under the citrus. I may not have identified the beer if I didn’t bake these myself! The Bacardi Limon in the frosting compliments the cupcakes well and undercuts the sweetness of the buttercream.
This recipe is modified from Ellie Delancey’s Blue Moon Cupcakes. Enjoy!
Corona Cupcakes
makes 1 dozen
2 eggs
1/2 c buttermilk
3/4 c Corona beer
zest of 2 limes
1 tbsp honey
2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1 c sugar
5 tbsp butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, beer, lime zest, and honey in a large bowl.
In a second bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and sugar. Add this to the beer mixture in thirds, stirring to combine after each addition. Add butter and mix until just combined.
Pour batter into a lined muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Let cool to room temperature.
Bacardi Limon Frosting
1/4 c butter
2 c powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp Bacardi Limon
Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate before frosting cupcakes. Store cupcakes in fridge to keep frosting from melting.
Note: I only like my cupcakes with a smidge of frosting, so if you like more, you will want to double this.
wow, this is the first cupcake recipe i’ve really wanted to try.
But these don’t get you drunk so…..
I would have gone with lime frosting… a little more fitting to the theme.
This raises the obvious question: who is going to combine this recipe with the Mint Julep cupcakes to create the ultimate Cinco de Derby dessert?
Did you use regular flour (the only kind I have) or cake flour ? I WANT these for C de D !
These look awesome! I haven’t made Corona cupcakes yet, but maybe this summer? I also like the mint julep cupcake idea that BS threw out there. I like the way you think.
Ellie