Penicillin Cupcakes

I'm still relatively green when it comes to drinking scotch. I've been a fan of single malts for about 3 years, and have been steadily adding to my collection over the last few years. I don't pretend to be a connoisseur, but goddamn I do love the stuff. Normally, I drink it neat; occasionally, with a small cube of ice added. So, when my friend Mark introduced me to a drink called a Penicillin, I was semi-horrified at the idea of mixing a $100 bottle of single malt into a cocktail. But, never being one to turn down trying something new and alcohol related, I let him whip one up for me (I don't take much convincing), and it was delicious! Having been bitten by a bit of a baking bug this week, I decided to make some cupcakes inspired by the Penicillin

1 cup butter
1/2 cup lemon juice (I used a mixture of fresh and bottled)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cream
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1" piece of ginger, grated
Grated lemon zest (I don't know how much. Some)
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking soda

Melt the butter, and then whisk in the sugar, lemon juice, eggs, cream, sour cream, vanilla, zest, and ginger. Make sure it's fully cool before mixing in the dry ingredients until smooth. Pour into muffin tins, and bake for approximately 15 minutes at 350 degrees

1/2 cup butter
3 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp honey
About 1/2 a lemon's worth of juice
Single malt scotch to taste (a traditional Penicillin uses Laphroaig, but unfortunately that's not part of my collection. Not wanting to use my Lagavulin 16 on an experimental dessert, I settled on Ardbeg for this batch)

Make sure the butter is at room temperature, and then mix everything together. It's not hard. Try not to hurt yourself. When the cupcakes have cooled, put the icing on them, much the way you have seen your mother do in the past.

And hey, since you've got all the ingredients already, you might as well whip yourself up the drink to wash everything down with (you can find that recipe here: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/11/time-for-a-drink-penicillin-cocktail.html)

Chocolate porter cupcakes

I've lived in my apartment for nearly 3 years, and have avoided baking the entire time due to the pitiful kitchen. It's teeny tiny, and the oven doesn't open properly because whatever genius designed the kitchen decided to put the gas pipe right in front of the oven door. The baking itch has tingled a few times, but it wasn't until yesterday that I decided to see if I could make use of the space to whip up something sweet and tasty. I've seen a few recipes on food blogs for chocolate cupcakes using oatmeal stout as an ingredient, and, being a huge fan of anything alcohol related, I decided to whip up my own version. So, here's my recipe for chocolate porter cupcakes, with caramel scotch buttercream icing.

The cupcakes:
2 cups flour
2/3 cup each brown and white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking soda
1 egg
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups chocolate porter

I preheated my oven to 375, but it tends to run a little under temperature, so 350 should be fine for most ovens. Mix all the wet ingredient in one bowl (minus the beer), and all the dry in another, and then combine the two mixtures, blending until smooth. Slowly whisk in the beer into the batter (you'll have to do it slowly, as it tends to foam up when it's added). Fill your cupcake liners
2/3 full, and bake for 15 mins or so

The icing:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp water
1.25 cups butter
1/4 cup cream
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups icing sugar
Enough scotch (blended or single malt, depending on your level of fanciness) to add to the icing until it tastes good, and enough to drink while you're waiting for the caramel to boil and the cupcakes to cool

To start, add the brown sugar and water to a saucepan, over low to medium head on the stove. After a couple minutes, when the sugar starts to melt, add a the cream, salt, a quarter cup of the butter, and a splash of scotch. Allow this mixture to boil for a few minutes, until you think it looks like it's a nice caramelly looking liquid, then pour it into a bowl and leave it in the fridge or freezer to cool while you make the icing.
For the icing, blend the rest of the butter and the icing sugar together, until it's a smooth creamy consistency. Then add the vanilla and the scotch, until it tastes boozy enough. Once the caramel is cooled, mix it into the icing, and possibly add more scotch if you feel like it (not too much, or the icing won't set). When the cupcakes have cooled, slather that delicious icing all over them and then shove them all in your mouth (or share them with friends)!