Tecate beer and lime cupcakes with a Tequila butter cream frosting

Sunny days and boozy cupcakes... Spring is here and these cupcakes are perfect for a Cinco de Mayo party (should you live in a part of the world that celebrates it) or any party, really!

Do keep in mind that the alcohol in the cupcakes is quite strong, since the tequila is in the frosting and therefore has not been cooked. Definitely not kiddo-friendly, but you can adapt it to an alcohol free recipe; it'll just be a lime cupcake :)

Here's how to make these delicious boozy-bites!


INGREDIENTS (yields 24 cupcakes)
for the cupcake batter:
- 3/4 cups of room temperature unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 cups of AP flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup agave nectar (I used raw agave nectar)
- 1 1/2 cups of Tecate beer (or any light beer -lager, pils- you have on hand; Corona, Sol would work fine too), reserve a few tbsp for basting the cupcakes before frosting
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- zest of 1/2 lime (use the remaining zest and juice of the whole lie for the frosting, see below)

for the frosting:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- juice of 1 lime
- zest of 1/2 lime
- 1 cup of room temperature unsalted butter
- a pinch of salt
- 2-3 tbsp Tequila


RECIPE:
start with the cupcakes
- preheat your oven at 350F
- in the bowl of a standing mixer equipped with the whisk attachment, cream the butter and agave nectar until fluffy

- add the eggs one by one, making sure they are well incorporated before adding the next egg

- then add the vanilla and lime zest, the beer and flour, salt and baking powder alternating between wet and dry ingredients until all is well mixed in

- line a cupcake tray with paper cups and fill 2/3 in with the batter

- bake at 350F for 20 minutes and as soon as they come out of the oven, poke a few times with a tooth pick and brush with beer

Note: the warm cupcakes will soak up the beer and that will keep them moist and full of beer flavor
- let cool completely before frosting
prepare the frosting while the cupcakes are cooling:
- in the bowl of a standing mixer equipped with the paddle attachment, mix all the ingredients until creamy and well blended

- transfer the frosting into a piping bag (with or without a tip for fancy decorations) and frost away!

- decorate with fresh lime zest

Note: as you can see some of my cupcakes were still a little too warm when I iced them and the butter cream just melted :( They were still good though, just not as pretty!
- Enjoy!

Brats and kraut leftovers salad

Boy, am I on a roll today, or what?

After receiving a lo-hot of cabbage in my farm share over the summer, I decided a few months ago to make my own sauerkraut. I won't be posting the recipe here, because I did not document the process with pictures and I basically just followed a random recipe found on the internet.

A couple nights ago, I decided to use the kraut in a basic beer-brats and kraut recipe. Long story short, I found myself stuck with leftovers and did not feel like eating full-on sauerkraut and sausages yet again today, so I came up with this salad on the fly.

INGREDIENTS (for 2)


- 1 romaine heart salad
- 1 small red apple
- 1 cold leftover grilled bratwurst
- about 1/2 cup leftover kraut
- shaved gruyere cheese
- white balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
- salt and pepper

RECIPE

- with a stick blender, puree the kraut with the salt, pepper, vinegar and olive oil: that will be your dressing for the salad.

note: I used white balsamic because I had this at home already. I think it might be better with apple cider vinegar, since it will pair well with the fresh apple.


- dice the cold brat and the apple in small cubes.
- cut the salad in bite size chunks.
- toss everything together, add the dressing and top with shaved cheese.

Bon appetit!