Butterbeer Cupcakes: The Cupcake That Lived

I am not joking about the cupcake that lived part. As many people know, I am not a baker-it is too exact and I have no patience. One thing I am though is a Harry Potter fanatic. Last year for The Deathly Hallows Part 1 my neighbor and I made Butterbeer with cream soda, butterscotch schnapps, and a whipped topping. It was sickeningly sweet and we could barely drink one. So this year, for Part 2, I decided to turn it into a dessert. First off- I planned on making them the night of the midnight showing that my husband and I went to. I bought all of funky supplies I needed such as butter flavoring and butterscotch chips, knowing that I had everything else we needed at home. I get home and start prepping the dry ingredients and we have no eggs. I.was.livid. I decided that I was too hot and angry to go to the store to get the eggs (I don't always cook well angry). I felt that it was okay to make them the next day since technically that was opening day.

Another disaster-since I don't bake often, I didn't realize that my non-stick muffin pan wasn't non-stick anymore. I grumbled obscenities to myself as I tried to pry the tattered cupcakes out of the pan. I washed it and for batch two I greased the pan. That didn't help either. So these are probably the most pitiful looking cupcakes I have ever made in my entire life, and I am almost too embarrassed to post a picture, but will anyway out of the goodness of my heart. I adapted this recipe from The Curvy Carrot Blog

Butterbeer Cupcakes (makes 18)
For the cupcakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour
18 liners (you like that part?)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring (on the spice aisle)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda, room temperature

For the buttercream frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup butterscotch ganache (see below)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
Pinch salt
1 16-oz package (about 3 cups) powdered sugar
Milk or cream, as needed *just a few drops

For the butterscotch ganache:
1 11-ounce bag of butterscotch chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cupcake pan with the liners. (you like that part?) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter to a bowl and using an electric mixer (or standing) with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light, about 2 minutes.Add the granulated and dark brown sugars to the butter and continue to mix at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.Add the vanilla and butter flavorings until combined.Add about one-third of your buttermilk, followed by one-third of the cream soda, and then one-third of the flour mixture.Alternate adding the remaining buttermilk, cream soda, and flour in thirds until well-combined. The batter will be extremely airy and fluffy

Evenly distribute the cupcake batter among your prepared baking pan and bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15-17 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

For the butterscotch ganache: In a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water, mix the butterscotch chips and heavy cream, stirring until smooth. Let cool.

For the butterscotch frosting: In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light, about 2 minutes.Add the cooled butterscotch ganache to the butter, mixing well. Add the vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt to the frosting and mix well to combine.Decrease the mixer speed to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. (Add a few drops of cream or additional powdered sugar as necessary).

Next what I did was poke a hole in the center of the cupcake with the fatter end of a chopstick, you can use whatever you would like. Spoon a teaspoon of the ganache on top of the cupcake, and let sit for 5 minutes. Frost the cupcake and drizzle with ganache (and hopefully yours will turn out beautiful, at this point in time I did not give a shit what it looked like)