mudslide cupcakes

How can something sound so wrong be so right??

Now before you think “ew. Mudslide.” I ask you to stop, and reconsider.

Now, I’ve been known to have a few cocktails in my time. But not a mudslide, or if I have had one, I can’t remember having one. The only thing I’ve had that comes close to a mudslide is a Toblerone cocktail or some CSCs (I’m sure you know what the abbreviation is and I don’t need to spell it out).

I love cocktails, and everything about them. I love that you can concoct pretty much anything by combining liqueurs and fruity or chocolately flavours. You’re only limited by your imagination.

So when Rebecca suggested the theme for our Cupcake Combat could be cocktails, I couldn’t say no! As soon as the theme was settled, I dreamt of two things: sweet, tasty, fruity concoctions or rich, creamy, velvety chocolate creations.

So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that for my first cupcake (out of three) I decided on mudslide cupcakes. Before I decided to take on this cupcake, I did a bit of research. To say I wasn’t daunted would be a lie. A dual swirl of frosting? I’ve never done that before. All the versions I saw online looked so professional, so beautiful and not to mention so tasty!

And then if the frosting dilemma wasn’t enough, there were so many different cake base recipes. So many in fact that I got confused. Ones with Kahlua, ones with Baileys, ones that were plain chocolate… Turns out everyone else in the cupcake sphere enjoy experimenting no?

Nevertheless, I decided to give these bad boys a go. I adapted the chocolate cake recipe from the Crabapple Bakery Cupcake Cookbook and added dashes of Kahlua and Baileys to just a simple vanilla buttercream icing recipe.

The results as above: you judge for yourself. Winner? I think so, but I’m biased.

Mudslide cupcakes

Chocolate Baileys cupcakes

Makes lots and lots of cupcakes – at least 50 mini cupcakes and 16 standard sized cupcakes (that’s what I took in to work and they were all gone!)

3 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of hot water

1 cup of cocoa

2/3 cup of Baileys Irish Cream (or 1 cup of Baileys if you want even boozier cakes)

1/3 cup of milk  (omit if using 1 cup of Baileys)

200g of softened unsalted butter

2 cups castor sugar

4 eggs

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1| Preheat your oven to 170^oC. Line your trays with cupcake liners.

2| Sift together the flour, bicarb soda, baking powder and salt. In a small separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, combine the milk and Baileys.

3| In the bowl of your mixer or in another bowl, using a hand mixer, cream the butter for 1-2 minutes. Add the castor sugar a third at a time, beating for around 2 minutes after each addition. After the last addition, keep beating until the butter and sugar mixture is light and fluffy. You should see it change colour – the mix won’t be as yellow as when you first started the creaming process.

4| Add the eggs in, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract and beat for another minute or so.

5| Add a quarter of the flour to the creamed mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Add about a third of the cocoa and Baileys mixture and beat until combined. Repeat this process twice more. Add the rest of the flour and until combined. Be careful not to overbeat – it will toughen the mixture. Beat until just combined and you can gently fold the rest with a spatula if you like.

6| Spoon the mixture into the cupcake papers, filling each to about three-quarters full. If you don’t want cracks in the tops of your cakes (come on, no one does right? It’s not that pretty), just sit your cakes for 10-20 minutes before baking.

7| Bake for about 10 minutes (for little cupcakes) or 15-17 minutes for standard sized cupcakes or until a fine skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the trays immediately and completely cool on a wire rack before frosting. Try to refrain from eating.

Baileys buttercream icing

150g softened unsalted butter

1-2 cups of icing sugar mixture, depending on how sweet you want it

A dash of vanilla extract

3 tablespoons of Baileys Irish Cream

1| Cream the butter for 1-2 minutes in a clean, dry bowl.

2| Add in the Baileys and vanilla extract and beat for at least a couple of minutes.

3| Add in the icing sugar, a bit at a time, adjusting to your tastes.

Kahlua buttercream icing

150g softened unsalted butter

3 tablespoons of Dutch cocoa powder (this is the good stuff – it’s dark and has a slightly bitter taste so will balance out the sweetness of the Baileys)

A dash of vanilla extract

6 tablespoons of Kahlua

1| Cream the butter for 1-2 minutes in a clean, dry bowl.

2| Add in the cocoa powder and beat for at least a couple of minutes.

3| Add in the Kahlua and vanilla extract and beat for at least a couple of minutes.

4| Add in the icing sugar, a bit at a time, adjusting to your tastes.

Frosting the cupcakes

Note: this is a little tricky, and messy if not careful but definitely doable. You need a bit of equipment, but nothing that a well-equipped kitchen won’t have. The cakes do look better with a swirl but you can easily find a swirl nozzle from many stores like House, Matchbox, or the General Store.

You’ll need:

A large swirl nozzle

2 smaller piping bags (you can use disposable piping bags

1 large piping bag to house the 2 smaller piping bags

1| Place the Kahlua and Baileys icing into the smaller bags (one bag for Kahluah, one for Baileys). Try to make sure that the amount of icing in each bag is equal.

2| Place the nozzle in the end of the big piping bag. Snip the end off (but only make a small cut). Place these two bags side by side into the big bag. Close off the big bag by twisting off the top.

3| On each cake, make a swirl and sprinkle with chocolate shavings if you like.

4| Eat one or many, until full.