The bounty was to be distributed on a Friday, most likely in the afternoon, and what is everyone in an office thinking on a Friday afternoon? That's right, happy hour. Especially in Portland, where we are so happy we have happy hour twice a day. Seriously, we do. And now I give you, Happy Hour Cupcakes!
Ingredient Army
Meyer Lemon Drop
Bourbon & Ginger
Spanish Coffee
RubinatorMeyer Lemon Drop: I chose this because the lemon drop is a pretty popular, easily recognizable drink, and I really wanted to incorporated a sugared rim into one of the cupcakes. For the cake I figured I had better get back to basics and choose a truly classic vanilla cupcake, so for that I had to use the recipe from Magnolia Bakery in NYC, which basically put the cupcake on the map. (Or at least on Page Six.) You can find that recipe here. To make it a little lemony, I just added a bit of lemon juice in place of some of the milk, and some fresh lemon zest. Warning, do not over bake these guys. I did it and I'm now kicking myself. If you are making mini cupcakes like I did, the bake time is less than what is listed in the recipe. After they cooled, I rolled the edges in a little water and then in a mixture of organic evaporated cane sugar and Meyer lemon zest. (Just like the sugared rim on a lemon drop glass! Get it?!) The frosting was a classic buttercream, but I added a good bit a fresh Meyer lemon juice, which really kicked the flavor into lemon land. Yum! These were actually my favorite of the bunch.
Bourbon & Ginger: I had to do this because bourbon and ginger is my favorite drink of all time. (Remember the Kentucky thing? And the ginger thing? There it is.) I will make these again because they weren't quite spot on, but they still tasted like a good cupcake...just not B&G enough. I used the same vanilla cupcake recipe, but instead of lemon juice I added 1/4 cup of Reed's Extra Ginger Brew (the best, in my opinion) and 1/4 of good Kentucky bourbon.* I also added about a tsp of grated fresh ginger, and about a tsp of ground ginger. While they were baking, I reduced some bourbon and ginger ale on the stove. After the cupcakes came out, I poked them with toothpicks and drizzled a bit of the reduced B&G over them, to keep them moist and bourbony good. They were topped with a basic cream cheese frosting, kicked up with about a tbs of bourbon. Oh, and of course I used pure bourbon vanilla in the cakes and the frosting. I topped them with chopped up all natural ginger candy, also from Reed's. (You can find Reed's at any nice grocery store, and even some not-so-nice ones. I got mine at New Seasons, but unfortunately for those of you outside of Portland, you don't get to experience this blissful store. Sorry.)
Spanish Coffee: This was a must because Portland freakin' loves Spanish Coffee. I can't say for sure because life before Portland is sort of becoming a blur to me, but I don't think I had ever even heard of Spanish Coffee before I moved here. Maybe it's because of all the great coffee in Portland, or maybe it's just because the dark, rainy days of winter are really not good for anything other than sitting inside with a nice flaming cup of alcoholic coffee. Either way, they're quite the thing around here. Though almost every bar has it's own Spanish Coffee method, the place that made it famous is Huber's, the oldest restaurant in the city, which specializes in delectable Spanish Coffee and turkey. Yeah, weird, right? Anyway, I used their recipe as my inspiration for the cupcake. The chocolate cake recipe actually came from Ina Garten, which you can see here. The addition of some extra coffee grounds really gave the cakes a nice coffee flavor, without being overpowering. Another warning: the batter is extremely runny and you will probably think you did something wrong, but they bake up nicely. Just don't overfill the pan. They were topped with a cinnamon buttercream and dusted with cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg, just like they do at Huber's. (They also serve the coffee on fire at Huber's, but that didn't really go over so well with the cupcakes.)
Rubinator: This is another local favorite from McMenamins, which is probably the most unique pub/theater/hotel chain on earth. Among the hundreds of things the McMenamins properties do, they brew their own beers, which include the Terminator Stout and the Ruby Ale. It's not on the menu, but if you ask for a "Rubinator," you'll get a blend of the Terminator and the Ruby. It's kind of like a black and tan, but the Ruby Ale has a hint of raspberry to it, so it's more exotic. So, this cupcake was a chocolate stout cake recipe that I sort of fudged (no pun intended) from a few different sources. One that I kind of used is here. The raspberry part was the raspberry cream cheese frosting, which was a basic cream cheese frosting recipe combined with mascerated raspberries pressed through a strainer to get rid of the seeds. I was very pleased with this frosting, as it turned a beautiful pink color without any food coloring whatsoever. And the fresh raspberry taste was really perfect. I topped these with a bit of shaved organic dark chocolate. These seemed to be the favorite of the bunch, which I honestly think has to do with the visual aspect; they just looked so pretty! (They did taste quite good, too...)
So, while I'm not a baker, I'd say with the help of some really good recipes and a little creativity (and an affinity for things that celebrate drinking), the Happy Hour Cupcakes were a great success. I even got a catering request out of the deal! And hopefully, lots and lots of carpet will be sold. The moral of this entry is, if you want to get someone to do something, make them cute little cupcakes. And if you really want things to work in your favor, make the cupcakes somehow related to drinking. Yeah!
Cupcake Army
*A note about bourbon, since I am from Kentucky. Bourbon is only bourbon if it's from Kentucky. All bourbons are whiskeys, but not all whiskeys are bourbons. Just like champagne is only sparkling wine unless it comes from the Champagne region of France. Don't let anyone try to tell you that Jack Daniels is bourbon. It's not.
Bourbon & Ginger: I had to do this because bourbon and ginger is my favorite drink of all time. (Remember the Kentucky thing? And the ginger thing? There it is.) I will make these again because they weren't quite spot on, but they still tasted like a good cupcake...just not B&G enough. I used the same vanilla cupcake recipe, but instead of lemon juice I added 1/4 cup of Reed's Extra Ginger Brew (the best, in my opinion) and 1/4 of good Kentucky bourbon.* I also added about a tsp of grated fresh ginger, and about a tsp of ground ginger. While they were baking, I reduced some bourbon and ginger ale on the stove. After the cupcakes came out, I poked them with toothpicks and drizzled a bit of the reduced B&G over them, to keep them moist and bourbony good. They were topped with a basic cream cheese frosting, kicked up with about a tbs of bourbon. Oh, and of course I used pure bourbon vanilla in the cakes and the frosting. I topped them with chopped up all natural ginger candy, also from Reed's. (You can find Reed's at any nice grocery store, and even some not-so-nice ones. I got mine at New Seasons, but unfortunately for those of you outside of Portland, you don't get to experience this blissful store. Sorry.)
Spanish Coffee: This was a must because Portland freakin' loves Spanish Coffee. I can't say for sure because life before Portland is sort of becoming a blur to me, but I don't think I had ever even heard of Spanish Coffee before I moved here. Maybe it's because of all the great coffee in Portland, or maybe it's just because the dark, rainy days of winter are really not good for anything other than sitting inside with a nice flaming cup of alcoholic coffee. Either way, they're quite the thing around here. Though almost every bar has it's own Spanish Coffee method, the place that made it famous is Huber's, the oldest restaurant in the city, which specializes in delectable Spanish Coffee and turkey. Yeah, weird, right? Anyway, I used their recipe as my inspiration for the cupcake. The chocolate cake recipe actually came from Ina Garten, which you can see here. The addition of some extra coffee grounds really gave the cakes a nice coffee flavor, without being overpowering. Another warning: the batter is extremely runny and you will probably think you did something wrong, but they bake up nicely. Just don't overfill the pan. They were topped with a cinnamon buttercream and dusted with cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg, just like they do at Huber's. (They also serve the coffee on fire at Huber's, but that didn't really go over so well with the cupcakes.)
Rubinator: This is another local favorite from McMenamins, which is probably the most unique pub/theater/hotel chain on earth. Among the hundreds of things the McMenamins properties do, they brew their own beers, which include the Terminator Stout and the Ruby Ale. It's not on the menu, but if you ask for a "Rubinator," you'll get a blend of the Terminator and the Ruby. It's kind of like a black and tan, but the Ruby Ale has a hint of raspberry to it, so it's more exotic. So, this cupcake was a chocolate stout cake recipe that I sort of fudged (no pun intended) from a few different sources. One that I kind of used is here. The raspberry part was the raspberry cream cheese frosting, which was a basic cream cheese frosting recipe combined with mascerated raspberries pressed through a strainer to get rid of the seeds. I was very pleased with this frosting, as it turned a beautiful pink color without any food coloring whatsoever. And the fresh raspberry taste was really perfect. I topped these with a bit of shaved organic dark chocolate. These seemed to be the favorite of the bunch, which I honestly think has to do with the visual aspect; they just looked so pretty! (They did taste quite good, too...)
So, while I'm not a baker, I'd say with the help of some really good recipes and a little creativity (and an affinity for things that celebrate drinking), the Happy Hour Cupcakes were a great success. I even got a catering request out of the deal! And hopefully, lots and lots of carpet will be sold. The moral of this entry is, if you want to get someone to do something, make them cute little cupcakes. And if you really want things to work in your favor, make the cupcakes somehow related to drinking. Yeah!
Cupcake Army*A note about bourbon, since I am from Kentucky. Bourbon is only bourbon if it's from Kentucky. All bourbons are whiskeys, but not all whiskeys are bourbons. Just like champagne is only sparkling wine unless it comes from the Champagne region of France. Don't let anyone try to tell you that Jack Daniels is bourbon. It's not.
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Brilliant!!
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