Chocolate Bourbon Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting and Bourbon Caramel Sauce

How to blow your work-out in about four bites... WORTH IT!



Chocolate Bourbon Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting and Bourbon Caramel Sauce
slightly adapted from Donna Hay
Makes 12

For the Cupcakes:
2 tablespoons bourbon
140g unsalted butter, chopped
50g cocoa powder, sifted
2 eggs
80g sour cream
200g plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, sifted
275g caster sugar

For the Peanut Butter Frosting:
160g icing sugar, sifted
260g smooth peanut butter
80g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
80ml cream

For the Bourbon Caramel Sauce:
110g caster sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cream
1 tablespoon bourbon

Make the Cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. and line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

Put the bourbon and butter in a small saucepan and heat over medium flame until warm. Add the butter and stir until it is melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa. Set aside.

Put the sour cream and eggs into large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the bourbon mixture, flour, bicarbonate of soda and sugar and stir with a spatula until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.

Using an ice scream scoop, scoop even portions of batter into the liners and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into a cupcakes. Remove from the tin and leave on a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Peanut Butter Frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the icing sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla  for about 6-8 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Add the cream and beat for a further 1 minute.

Make the Bourbon Caramel Sauce:
Put the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir to combine. Bring to the boil and cook for about 10 minutes without stirring. If you stir, the caramel could crystalise and you'll end up with a gritty sauce, which would be a tragedy. You can swirl the pan as the sugar starts to caramelise, but NO STIRRING. Remove from the heat and carefully add the cream and bourbon. It will splutter a bit so be careful. Return it to the heat and stir until smooth. Set aside until completely cool.

Pipe the frosting on to the cupcakes and anoint with the Bourbon Caramel Sauce.