This has to be one of the best things I have ever baked. It is an intense, full-bodied, smoky, bittersweet experience: chocolate-stout batter, chocolate-whiskey frosting. It is as complex as the combination of its ingredients. It is a masculine, beautiful recipe that should be enjoyed in a dark wooden room, covered with books, the sound of Adele’s music in the background. I usually eat chocolate when nostalgic. It reminds me of Rome, my best friend from high school, and other good things…

I haven’t really posted any chocolate recipes yet. I have a couple coming soon: Marta get ready! None of these are as dark as this one.  Chocolate has always been one of my favorites. It makes any day better, especially when combined with other ingredients: vanilla, chili, beer, whiskey, or wine.

This recipe is named after a good friend. Lance found this recipe a year ago, and told me it was his favorite. As any good friend would, I baked it for him. A year later, I decided to make them into cupcakes. I changed the frosting up a bit by adding whiskey. I like the new recipe so much better than the original.

 The Lance Walters Cupcake

Makes 12

Ninety percent of the credit for this recipe goes to Smitten Kitchen, five to Lance Walters, and the rest to me.

• 1/2 cup stout beer
•  1 sticks unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cups sugar
• 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large eggs
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 tablespoons heavy cream 
• 6 tablespoons of butter
•  2 tablespoons whiskey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.

Pour ½ cup of stout into a saucepan, turn burner on to medium low. Add butter, and let melt in the beer. Once dissolved, whisk in ½ cup of cocoa powder, until smooth (2-3 minutes). Set aside to cool for at least ten minutes.

In a clean bowl mix flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Set aside. In stand mixer combine sour cream and eggs. Beat until well incorporated. Add chocolate beer mixture. Mix for a couple of minutes. Add flour mixture, about a cup at a time. Mix until just well incorporated. Pour batter into a measuring cup. This will help pour the batter into the muffin tin. Fill each cupcake ¾ of the way up.

Bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

To make Whiskey ganache, melt cream and chocolate chips over a double boiler. If you don’t know what a double boiler is, don’t fret! It is super simple and all you need is a pot and a bowl that fits over it. Put water in the pot, and bring it to a simmer. Once that happens, put bowl on top of the pot, and melt chocolate and cream in the bowl. The double boiler system prevents the chocolate from burning, as the steam from the simmer water is gentler that direct heat. Let cool for a couple of minutes. In stand mixer beat cold butter, chocolate ganache and whiskey until well incorporated. Cool in fridge for 15 minutes. This will harden the frosting a little and make it easier to frost. 

Frost, devour!