Liquor + Cake

Cupcakes and Cocktails; it's not only adorable in its alliterative nature, these two lovelies embody some of my favorite things. They're delicious, tiny and nice to look at. The only trouble with these things is that you can only have so much of either one before you run into trouble. The only solution -- miniature cupcakes and miniature cocktails! Over the weekend I had my friends over and orchestrated a five course meal of decadence that revolved entirely around cake and booze. In order to maximize cake and liquor consumption I miniaturized both and created a tasting menu fit for a hedonist.

You can find miniature cupcake tins and miniature cupcake liners at bakery suppliers and some craft stores (Michael's carries these things). You can also find these things at stores with a large kitchen equipment department like Bed Bath and Beyond. For my party I served a drink that coordinated with each cake. In order to make the drink size appropriate for the cakes I scored some votive candle holders at Target for about 50 cents a piece that looked like oversized shot glasses.



I am going to apologize now for my laziness, I do not feel like typing up every recipe I used for my party. I made 5 kinds of cake and 5 kinds of cocktails. That's 10 recipes. If you're considering a cocktails and cupcakes party of your own there's no real need to get hung up on my recipes any way, just take away from this post the concept of a cupcakes and cocktails party and use your favorite recipes. If there's something you're really dying to know how to make I can give you details, but your favorite cupcakes will be just as good as mine I'm sure. One thing to keep in mind however is that little cupcakes bake very quickly. Most of my cakes needed only 8 minutes. Keep a very close eye on your oven.

For the first course I served chocolate cupcakes with a homemade cocoa hazelnut frosting, topped with crushed hazelnuts, chocolate dust and a raspberry for a pop of tartness. I paired this cake with Kahlua and cream. (Vegans: I used soy creamer so if you are also a vegan, that is the ingredient I recommend.)



Next up: Berries and cream layer cake with champagne frosting. I replaced the liquid content of a buttercream frosting recipe with bubbly. Then I baked 24 mini mixed berry cupcakes and stacked them in 2 layer cakes (gluing them together with frosting). I topped each cake with a generous amount of frosting and a sliced strawberry. I served this cake with a mixed drink consisting of equal parts champagne, Stoli Raspberry and raspberry schnapps.



After the berry cakes, I served cherry cordial cupcakes with apricot hot toddies. My cupcakes were chocolate with a cream and cherry center. I topped each cake with chocolate ganache and a cherry from a jar of cherry pie filling. I made my hot toddies with apricot brandy flavored black tea, lemon juice, honey (vegans: use agave) and a shot of brandy.



Following the cordials came the tiramisu and coffee. I made the tiramisu using the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World recipe and I served with with a coffee cocktail that consisted of cream, coffee, Stoli Vanilla, and Amaretto.



I capped off the meal with chai tea cupcakes topped with vanilla buttercream frosting and a dusting of cinnamon. I served these cakes with an apple cider and spiced rum cocktail.