Butterbeer Cupcakes

A friend asked me to make butterbeer cupcakes as a birthday treat for her fiance, which happened to be combined with a Halloween party (that's why I included the candy knives for a spooky decoration). Now I have indeed been to Harry Potter World at Universal, but (gasp!) did not actually try the butterbeer! Why? Because the line was about 20,982,183 people deep. I exaggerate a tad, but seriously the line was ridiculously long and it being the middle of July in Florida, it just wasn't going happen.

So what's a girl whose never actually tasted butterbeer to do? Google. I came across this recipe by AmyBites and it seems pretty spot on. These butterbeer cupcakes are adapted from her recipe. They are filled the the brim with butterscotch, vanilla and buttery flavors.

These are an awesome flavor combination for fall and a great way to impress family members and in-laws for that up-coming Thanksgiving dinner.

Butterbeer Cupcakes 

with Butterscotch Ganache Filling & Frosting 

Yields 18 cupcakes

Adapted from this recipe by AmyBites

Butterbeer Cupcakes
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with paper liners. 
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. 
3. In a large mixing bowl bowl, cream your butter until light and fluffy. Approx 3-4 minutes of mixing on a "high" setting.
4. Add your room-tempature sugars and beat until well-combined. Beat in your eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 
5. Beat in your vanilla and butter flavoring.
6. Alternate adding the buttermilk, cream soda, and dry ingredients in batches until all are well incorporated. 
7. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full, then bake for 15 to 17 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch. 
8. Cool completely on wire racks.

While the cupcakes cool...

Butterscotch Ganache (for the cupcake filling)
1 11-oz. package butterscotch chips
3/4 cup heavy cream

1. In a double boiler (heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove), combine butterscotch chips and heavy cream and stir until completely combined and smooth. 
2. Cool to room temperature. 
3. Reserve at least 3/4 cup of the ganache for the frosting later
4. Fill a squeeze bottle with ganache and insert into the center of each cupcake, squeezing until filling begins to overflow. I highly recommend using the squeeze bottle, as opposed to a frosting bag and tip; it gives you a lot more control over the ganache and less chance of spilling. 

Butterscotch Frosting
3/4 cup of unsalted butter (room temp.)
3/4 cup of vegetable shortening (i.e. Crisco)
3/4 cup of reserved butterscotch ganache
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp butter flavor (optional)

1. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter & vegetable shortening until well combined & fluffy (approx 3 min).
2. Mix in the reserved butterscotch ganache.
3.  Mix in 1/2 salt. I find that this is a very sweet cupcake, so I added salt to the frosting to help counteract all of the sweetness. It's very similar tasting to salted caramel.
4. One cup at a time mix the powered sugar into the butter, vegetable shortening & salt, on a low setting, making sure to scrape down the sides after adding each cup. 
5. Then add the vanilla and butter flavoring. I did not add the butter flavor, so try it out first with just the vanilla and see if it's "buttery" enough for you. 

Frost the completely cooled cupcakes with a ribbon tip and then lightly swirl any of the remaining ganache on the tops. 

These are the Martha Stewart Cupcake papers I used. My boyfriend's mom gave these to me, but I'm pretty sure you can find them at Michael's Craft Stores. 

For more fall-inspired cupcakes by Mandy click here!