Mexican Car-Tel Bomb Cupcakes

Submitted by ala-kat

"This is a blatant rip-off of the Irish Car Bomb cupcake recipe posted by BrownEyedBaker (and she borrowed it also). I made her recipe and these cupcakes are just awesome. The Mexican version simply replaces the Irish alcohol with Mexican alcohol. I've also changed the frosting to half of what the original was - I had more left over than I used, and I wasn't shy in my frosting. I used semi-sweet chocolate as I could not find bittersweet so I just went with the percentages and got as close as I could. Don't be afraid to up the volume of alcohol in the ganache & frosting if you're so inclined :) Use chili infused chocolate if you can find it or add some chili pepper to the cupcake mix to spice it up."

 

• Ready In: 57mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Yields: 24 cupcakes
• Serves: 24

ingredients

• Cupcake

• 1 cup dark beer, Negro Modelo is a good Mexican dark beer
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3⁄4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2⁄3 cup sour cream

• Ganache

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chili infused if available)
• 2⁄3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons tequila

• Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1⁄2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons Kahlua

directions

1. To Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the beer and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the beer-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.
3. To Make the Ganache Filling: Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and tequila and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.
4. To Fill the Cupcakes: Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down. Transfer the ganache to a piping back with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top. NOTE: just spoon the stuff in, no need to create more work :).
5. To Make the Frosting: Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. NOTE: I don't have a stand mixer, my regular hand mixer worked just fine. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Kaluha, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.
6. Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes.