#5 -Jack Daniel's Cupcakes

Jack Daniel's Dark Chocolate Cupcakes 

What they're supposed to look like.

Original Source: Fields of Cake

As I said in THIS recipe, I'm not a chocolate lover. Neither is my father, really. So why then did I feel the need to make these for Father's Day? Well because it contains strong coffee and Jack Daniel's. It was certainly worth a shot!

Let me say upfront, this is NO simple recipe. It's not horribly hard, either. But if you don't like following several steps (some painstaking) then this may not be the recipe for you. But I'll let you decide that.

Here's what you'll need:

(I'm breaking this down into each step because the original site was a bit confusing)

For the cupcakes:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt (I used regular salt because I was out of Kosher!)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup super strong coffee (Note: The original recipe didn't specify, but I let mine cool for fear of cooking the eggs. This may not have been necessary, but the cooled coffee worked fine.)
• 1/2 Cup Jack Daniel's Whiskey
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

In another bowl, combine eggs, coffee,  whiskey, buttermilk and oil.

Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and whisk until blended.

Spoon into prepared cupcake cups, about half full.

Bake 18-20 minutes until tops spring back slightly when touched and let cool completely.

While those are baking:

Dark Chocolate Whiskey Ganache:

What you'll need:

• 16 oz good quality chocolate chopped into small pieces
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Jack Daniel's Whiskey

Place chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set aside

Heat heavy cream until just boiling, then pour over chocolate.

Cover chocolate and cream for 2 minutes so chocolate can soften.

Uncover and stir until smooth.

Stir in butter and mix completely.

Stir in Whiskey and mix completely.

Cool.

Last Bit:

Dark Chocolate Whiskey Buttercream

What you'll need:

• 1 lb unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3 oz package vanilla, white chocolate, or cheesecake instant pudding mix (I used cheesecake)
• 2 cups Dark Chocolate Whiskey Ganache (See above)
• 1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• more Whiskey to taste

Mix butter and pudding mix on medium high for several minutes.

Add ganache, cocoa powder and cream.

Beat for several more minutes.

Add powdered sugar a bit at a time, tasting till it becomes as sweet as you want it, then beat for several more minutes.

Add whiskey by the tablespoon until its as strong as you want it.

** Note: I made part of the ganache and the icing without using additional whiskey so my kids could eat it. The rest, I used quite a bit to give my dad a treat.

**** Second note: The original source for this recipe had no easy to find instructions on filling the cupcake with the ganache, so I had to figure it out on my own. It came out just fine, so I'm putting those instructions here.

FILLING THE CUPCAKES WITH THE GANACHE:

I simply took a butter knife and cut a small hole in the center of each cupcake, lifting the bottom of the hole with my finger to keep the removed chunk in tact. Spooned in a bit of ganache, and placed the chunk of cupcake back to cover it. Worked great!

Ice the cupcakes to your liking. As for me, I didn't have any fancy baking tools, so i filled a ziplock bag with the icing, clipped the corner, and used that to ooze the thick icing onto the cupcakes in a pretty fashion. I also topped with a few chocolate chips.

That's it! Have a great meal and express your saucy side!

Heather