Author Notes
My husband and I recently took a little road trip to Providence, R.I., where we ate dinner at the fabulous La Laiteria and took home a whiskey cupcake with cream cheese frosting from their adjoining market. Wow, was it ever delicious—a standout in the overcrowded field of super-sweet cupcakes. Here’s my attempt at reproducing it using rye whiskey and adding a coffee kick, inspired by the classic Irish coffee combo. - Midge
—Midge
Test Kitchen Notes
Midge's cupcakes have a beautiful moist cake with an excellent crumb. There's just enough coffee flavor plus a little something extra from the rye whiskey. Though sure to satisfy your dessert craving, the cupcakes don't have too much sugar and it's easy to eat more than one. The whisper of coffee in the luscious cream cheese icing ties everything together for one delicious cupcake! - biffbourgeois —Stephanie Bourgeois
Ingredients
- Cupcakes
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1 3/4 cups
AP flour
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1 1/2 teaspoons
baking soda
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1/4 teaspoon
fine sea salt
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1/2 cup
unsalted butter, room temperature
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1 1/2 cups
lightly packed dark brown sugar
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1 teaspoon
vanilla
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2
eggs
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1/2 cup
Greek yogurt, full fat
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1/2 cup
strong coffee
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1/3 cup
rye whiskey (I used Old Overholt)
- Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting
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1/2 cup
unsalted butter, softened
-
4 ounces
cream cheese, room temperature
-
1 1/2 cups
confectioner's sugar
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1 teaspoon
vanilla
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3 tablespoons
strong coffee
Directions
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Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Preheat oven to 350 F.
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Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
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In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together butter and sugar on medium-high for 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed down a notch or two; add vanilla and then eggs, one at a time, until mixture looks combined.
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With the mixer on medium-low, alternately fold in the yogurt and dry ingredients. Then gradually add the whiskey and coffee until the mixture is smooth. Don’t overbeat.
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Spoon batter into muffin tin, filling each cupcake liner about three-fourth full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
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Cool on rack. Frost when completely cool.
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For the frosting: In the bowl of standing mixer, using whisk attachment, combine butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla, and coffee and whisk on high until smooth. This could take several minutes if your butter and cream cheese weren't totally soft.
I’m a journalist who’s covered everything from illegal logging in Central America to merit pay for teachers, but these days I write mostly about travel. I’ve been lucky enough to find myself in some far-flung locales, where poking around markets and grocery stores is my favorite thing to do. Cooking, especially baking, is my way of winding down after a long day; there’s nothing like kneading bread dough to bring you back to earth.
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