I am getting exponentially bad at updating this thing (or at least compared to the beginning of the year). I think school has finally caught up with me, and I am realizing that I have a ton to get done. Today was pretty monumental though. My design group finished our midterm report and presentation today, and it is nice to have that off my plate. Now I just need to tackle a research paper on biological-based water treatment… if that doesn’t sound like fun, then I don’t know what.

Now to these cupcakes. These were the finale of my beer week. I want to note that I made a beer soup that week too, but Sam and I were not fans… so I don’t really feel like its worth posting about. You can’t like them all I guess. These cupcakes on the other hand were delicious, and the icing… so good. They really were the best fresh, because I tried one the next day, and the cake part just didn’t have the same great light texture anymore. So eat these the day you make them! I was fortunately going over to a friends house that evening so I was able to unload a bunch of them (not to mention I think I ate 5 by myself). I made these while sipping on a margarita too. It really made the whole process so much better, but it also may explain why my frosting didn’t turn out as fluffy (that’s probably a horrible description for a cupcake icing..) looking as the blog I got the recipe from. Ooops. Still delicious though.

Here are the ingredients for the cake part of the cupcakes…

So the first thing I did was preheat my oven to 375 degrees F and lined my muffin tin. Then I sifted together my flower, baking powder and salt.

Next with my hand mixer, I creamed my butter.

Then I added my sugar and creamed that in with the butter.

One at a time I added my eggs, and then added my vanilla and orange zest until just combined.

In another mixing bowl I whisked together my beer and milk.

Finally, I added a little bit of beer mixture and butter mixture (one at a time) into the flour mixture until it was all combined.

I filled the cupcake liners.

Then I baked them for about 17 minutes.

While that was baking, I made my frosting. Here are my frosting ingredients…

With my hand mixer I creamed together my butter and cream cheese. Then a little bit at a time I added in my powdered sugar. To finish it off I added in the orange juice. Then I frosted the cupcakes (topped with a little orange zest for decoration)!

I got this recipe from a blog called spoon fork bacon, and it was a winner. If you have some beer and some time… and maybe a margarita to accompany you… make these cupcakes. You won’t regret them.

Blue Moon Cupcakes
This made about 17 normal sized cupcakes for me.

Ingredients:

✔1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
✔1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
✔1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
✔1 teaspoon baking powder
✔1/8 teaspoon salt
✔2 eggs, room temperature
✔1 teaspoon vanilla extract
✔1 orange, zested (plus more for garnish)
✔2/3 cup Blue Moon beer
✔2 tablespoons whole milk
orange cream cheese frosting:
✔4 ounces cream cheese, softened
✔1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
✔2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
✔2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a mini muffin tin (I used a normal muffin tin) with 24 mini cupcake liners.
2. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, cream butter for 1 minute. Add sugar and cream together with butter for about 3 to 4 minutes.
4. 
Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down after each addition.
5. Add vanilla and orange zest and mix until just combined.
6. In a mixing bowl whisk together beer and milk. Alternatively add beer mixture and flour mixture to butter mixture until fully incorporated.
7. Fill cupcake liners 1/2-2/3 full.
8. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
 Transfer cupcakes onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
9. For frosting: In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese. With motor running add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until all sugar has been added, scraping down sides of the bowl after each cup of sugar. Stir in the orange juice until fully incorporated.
10. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes or spread with an offset spatula and top with fresh orange zest. Serve.