🧁Old Fashioned, Old-Fashioned🧁😋
I wouldn’t recommend serving these cupcakes at the kids next birthday party. But, I would definitely say you have got to try these! Do you love the delicious caramelly goodness of bourbon? How about that cherry soaked in bourbon, or the bitter sweet taste of the orange? The reason the old-fashioned cocktail is so popular, it that it really is the perfect flavor combination BOMB! I didn’t want to lose any of that boozy flavor either, so these are strictly rated +21! So, if you’re not old enough to drink ’em, ya can’t eat ’em either!
The Cupcakes
Orange, Cherry, Bourbon and bitters. They’re all at the party in this cupcake. Here’s how I made them. Preheat the oven to 350° and line muffin tins with 15 liners.
For the cupcake, mix the 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder and set aside.
Into a mixing bowl, cream 3/4 cup softened butter, 1 cup sugar until light. Add 3 eggs, one at a time until completely combined. Add orange zest, 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup orange juice and 1 teaspoon vanilla and 6 dashes of orange bitters. If you like, you can color with orange food coloring. I used 1 drop of yellow and red to make the orange. Mix well, the wet mixture will appear broken.
Turn mixer on low and slowly add dry ingredients until combined. Fill cups to just under 2/3 full.
Bake for 20 minutes, just until set on top. Once out of the oven poke with a toothpick all over top of cakes. Then, top each with a teaspoon of freshly squeezed orange juice. This will add more orange flavor and keep these unbelievably moist too. Let cupcakes cool before frosting.
🥃 Bourbon Buttercream
Look, I’m not talking about a teaspoon of bourbon. I’m talking about a real bourbon flavored taste explosion! It’s a little tricky because the bourbon wants to break the butter, but it does work. Just mix a good long time on high with a whisk attachment.
In the bowl of your mixer, add 3/4 cups softened, unsalted butter and whip for about 2 minutes. Then, add 1/2 cup confectioners sugar until combined. Add another 1/2 cup and whip again until combined. Then, add 1/4 cup bourbon. Let the mixture whip on high for about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add 1 cup confectioners sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Put the mixer back on high and let it whip for at least 3 minutes. Use immediately or refrigerate up to 2 days. You’ll just need to re-whip when it’s time to frost the cup cakes.
The Cherry 🍒 On Top Of The Cupcake 🧁
If you’re a bourbon lover or an old fashioned cocktail lover, you don’t want the hype to become a let down when you serve this little cake do you? No, can’t fool a bourbon lover! That’s why I laugh when I see a recipe that uses like a teaspoon of bourbon. A true old fashioned is always garnished with a orange peel and a cherry, am I right? Yes indeed. So here’s the cherry on top of this recipe. Top with my boozy soaked bourbon cherries. You can get the easy recipe here. https://wp.me/p9KEfL-tF
Now, what’s different about these cherries? I will confess, they are over the top bourbon flavor without a ton of sugar. So, if you don’t love bourbon, you may want to increase the sugar in the recipe by at least double. I however, think they are perfect. Just enough sweet and absolutely enough bourbon. They pack a punch! But, it’s the good kind of punch!
Candied Orange 🍊 Peel
For the orange peel, I made candied orange peel. There are a ton of versions on the internet. You can print my version here https://bittersaltysoursweet.com/how-to-make-candied-citrus-peel/ . I’ve combined a few different recipes and they came out perfectly. This is how I made them:
In a sauce pan, I added the peel of three small oranges. I tried to peel as much of the orange and not too much of the the white pitch. I peeled in strips, but even small pieces work fine. Cover the orange peels in water and bring to a boil. Drain, cover with water again and bring to a boil. Do this a total of 3 times.
Then, in a clean sauce pan, add 1 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Allow the peel to cook for about 1 hour. Then when there is only enough syrup to cover the peels, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Insert candy thermometer and heat to 250°. Then remove peel very carefully and set on top a wire cooling rack with a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment underneath. Let cool, then cover with plastic and let it set at least 8 hours. Cut into desired sizes. It’s really delicious and will keep sealed for about a month or more. Do not refrigerate.
Frost the cupcakes, then top with a boozy cherry and a strip or two of candied orange peel. Now, that’s an old-fashioned! Enjoy
Need a super cute cake plate to display your cupcakes? Here’s a really sweet one from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2MTDGtw
Old Fashioned Cupcakes – Orange Cake with Bourbon Buttercream And A Boozy Cherry On Top
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 1/2 cup orange juice, divided
- 6 dashes orange bitters
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- optional orange food color
For the bourbon buttercream
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- Garnish: Candied orange peel and boozy soaked bourbon cherries (recipies at bittersaltysoursweet.com)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line muffin tins with 15 liners.
- For the cupcake, mix the flour, salt, baking powder and set aside.
- Into the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light yellow.
- Add 3 eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium until completely incorporated.
- Add orange zest, milk, 1/4 cup of orange juice and vanilla and bitters and food coloring.
- Note that the mixture will look broken, but will come together with the dry ingredients.
- Turn mixer to low and slowly add dry ingredients until combined.
- Fill cup cake liners to 2/3 full
- Bake for 20 minutes, just until set on top. Once out of the oven poke wholes with a toothpick all over top of cakes. Then, top each with a teaspoon of freshly squeezed orange juice. This will add more orange flavor and keep these unbelievably moist too. Let cupcakes cool before frosting.
For the Bourbon Buttercream
- In the bowl of your mixer, add 3/4 cups softened, unsalted butter and whip for about 2 minutes. Then, add 1/2 cup confectioners sugar until combined. Add another 1/2 cup and continue until completely incorporated.
- Add 1/4 cup bourbon. Let the mixture whip on high for about 2 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low and add 1 cup confectioners sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Put the mixer back on high and let it whip for at least 3 minutes.
- Use immediately or refrigerate up to 2 days. (You'll just need to re-whip when it's time to frost the cup cakes.)
- Frost cupcakes then top each with a boozy soaked bourbon cherry and a piece or two of candied orange peel.
- Recipe by Karen Harris https://www.bittersaltysoursweet.com
