Chocolate & Stout Cupcakes
Rich, moist dark chocolate and stout cupcakes with mascarpone frosting
Ingredients
soft brown sugar
250 g
butter (very soft)
100 g
eggs (beaten)
2
all-purpose flour (sifted)
150 g
baking powder
1/4 tsp
baking soda
1 tsp
stout beer
205 ml
cocoa powder
50 g
mascarpone cheese (for frosting)
500 g
powdered sugar (sifted, for frosting)
100 g
Instructions
1
Preheat oven
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark 4). Place 12 brown muffin liners in a muffin tin. Beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
2
Mix in eggs
Add beaten egg a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. (If the mixture shows signs of curdling, add one tablespoon of flour.)
3
Mix liquid components
Pour stout beer into a bowl and stir in cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
4
Mix batter
Add a small amount of the stout-cocoa mixture to the butter mixture and stir. Next add two tablespoons of flour and stir. Continue alternating between adding flour and stout mixture until both are used up.
5
Bake
Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin liners. Bake on the middle oven rack for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.
6
Make frosting
Place mascarpone cheese in a bowl and gradually mix in the sifted powdered sugar.
7
Decorate
Once the cupcakes are fully cooled, top each with a spoonful of frosting—you can create a swirl or smooth it with the back of a spoon, then sprinkle with a small amount of sifted cocoa powder.
