Nine times out of 10, if someone is having a party, I’m hauling cupcakes with me. This weekend was a surprise party for Johnny, who I first met at my 30th birthday shindig. Johnny’s a cool guy and through his buddy and roommate Phil I learned that he loves gin.
Now, I haven’t worked with gin in a cupcake before, so I experimented with a small batch first, was successful, then scaled it up on Friday night. I glazed the cupcakes on Saturday but wasn’t happy with them. Sure, they tasted delicious, but they didn’t look the part of a proper birthday cupcake. Where was the frosting?
Originally I didn’t want to do frosting because I thought a buttercream would overpower everything. So, I chatted with Toni at my apprenticeship (yes, yes I will spill the beans on that later) and she agreed that if I was second-guessing them I should create a light frosting to finish them. We talked through my idea of a light whipped cream frosting and I knew I was set.
The end result was a true cocktail cupcake topped with lighter-than air whipped cream frosting and a sliver of lime peel coated in sparkling and sanding sugars. Needless to say, Johnny the birthday boy was thrilled and most of the party goers were blown away. I had at least 3-4 people ask me if I was a professional baker.
Someday. Someday it’s going to happen.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and position the racks toward the center. Line cupcake pans with papers. Combine dry ingredients; set aside.
Whip the butter in a stand mixer until light and fluffy, then add the sugar and mix for 2 more minutes. Add the egg and mix until combined.
Alternate between the flour and buttermilk, then add the gin and lime juice together and gently mix until combined. Add the lime zest, mix again until combined on low speed.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about halfway full. Bake for about 20 minutes. When done, transfer tins to wire racks to cool 5 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.
For the glaze, put all the ingredients in a bowl and gently mix with a fork until it comes together (definitely look out for lumps ... you might want to sift the sugar first). Once the cakes are out of the tins, poke holes in them--this will allow the glaze to soak into the cake some.
Spoon 1 teaspoon of glaze onto each cupcake, trying to aim for the holes for the first pass. Let it sit for about 5 minutes and repeat until you're out of glaze (should take at least 2 passes, maybe 3). Let the cupcakes sit, uncovered and out of the way, while you make the whipped cream.
For the whipped cream, make sure your whipping cream is cold and your mixing bowl is clean. I like to chill my mixing bowl as well (I find it helps the process). Whip the cream with a whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and whip a bit more until the peaks are a bit stiffer, but not too hard.
Fill a piping bag with either a closed or open star tip and pipe onto each cupcake. Gently top with a lime garnish before you serve.
https://cupcakefridayproject.com/2012/02/gimlet-cupcakes-for-birthday-boy-johnny/
May 15, 2012 at 10:08 am
Woah – love this recipe! I have been looking for a good gin cupcake recipe on Google, and this is the first one I found that has enough gin! Thanks
May 15, 2012 at 10:20 am
Hi Carla!
These cupcakes are packed with gin flavor and were a huge hit at the birthday party. Part of the success is the glaze (a must) and then using a lighter whipped cream frosting. You don’t want to overpower the gin!
If you bake them, let me know how they turn out!
November 27, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Hey! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the fantastic work!