Kahlua Cupcakes

Another Kulisek birthday, another booze cupcake! It was only appropriate for a 21st birthday. ;) My sister-in-law turned 21 and we celebrated on her birthday out in the city with my husband's band as the entertainment. It was lucky he was playing at a great place that night! I made these cupcakes that day - and they were amazing! I didn't want to do a buttercream icing like Annies-Eats' website called for, so I searched for a cream cheese icing recipe which I found at All Recipes. I added Kahlua to this recipe. The icing was a little watery and looked to be running off of the cupcakes, but that was fixed by keeping the cupcakes in the refrigerator. These were extremely rich and wonderful and definitely on my Must Make Again list!

CUPCAKES (makes 20 - 24)

Adapted from: www.annies-eats.com

INGREDIENTS

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp. instant espresso powder (I used a dark roast instant coffee)

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ cups sugar

1½ tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. salt

2 large eggs

¾ cup warm water

¾ cup buttermilk

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the brushing: KAHULA LIQUEUR

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line standard cupcake pans with paper liners. In a large mixing bowl combine the cocoa powder, espresso powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt; whisk well to blend. Add the eggs, warm water, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high speed until smooth, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake until the tops spring back when pressed lightly, about 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Poke a few holes in the top of each cupcake with the tines of a fork and brush with Kahlua while still warm. Allow to cool completely.

KAHLUA CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Adapted from: www.allrecipes.com (minus the Kahlua)

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 Tablespoons of Kahlua (to taste)

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Mix in Kahlua. I'm not exactly sure how much Kahlua I mixed in...I started with one tablespoon and keep adding a few more teaspoons until I thought the taste was right. I'm guessing about 4 tablespoons, but that could be altered depending on how strong you want the Kahlua flavor. Store in the refrigerator after use.