Best Frosting Ever!

After trying a few delicious cupcake varieties at Gigi's Cupcakes, I decided to develop my own Kentucky Bourbon cupcake.  I'm not a fan of mile high icing, I usually scrape off most of it because it is too sweet so I wanted to find the perfect "not too sweet" frosting.  I think I found it - "eureka!"

Kentucky Bourbon Cake

(adapted from Golden Grand Marnier Cake by Rose Levy Beranbaum)

½ cup mini chocolate chips

¼ tsp bourbon

1 ½ tsp cake flour

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 ½ tsp vanilla

¼ cup sour cream

2 ½ cups sifted cake flour (250g)

½ cup + 1 Tbs finely ground toasted pecans

1 cup sugar (or 200g superfine sugar)

1 ½ tsp baking power

1 tsp baking soda

¾ tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

¾ cup sour cream

½ cup bourbon

½ cup sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Place 24 cupcake liners in pans or use 9 cup Bundt pan greased and floured.

In small bowl, combine ¼ tsp bourbon with mini chips.  Add flour and toss to coat.  Set aside.

In medium bowl, combine eggs, vanilla and ¼ cup of sour cream.  Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (cake flour through salt).  Stir until combined.  Add softened butter and ¾ Cup sour cream.  Mix on low until dry ingredients are incorporated.  Increase to medium speed and beat 1 ½ minutes.  Scrape down sides.  Add egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 sec. each batch. Stir in chocolate chip mixture.

Pour batter into Bundt pan or fill cupcake tins.  Bake Bundt cake 55-65 min or bake cupcakes 25-30 min until toothpick comes out clean and cake springs back when pressed lightly.

Shortly before cake is done, create syrup.  Heat 1/2 cup of sugar and bourbon until sugar is dissolved.  Do not boil.  When cake comes out of oven, use a toothpick to poke holes all over top.  Brush ½ the syrup over cake.  If making Bundt cake, remove from pan after 10 min and brush remaining syrup over cake.

Frost with "Eureka" Buttercream Frosting.   Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and finely chopped pecans, if desired.

“Eureka” Buttercream Frosting

(adapted from Bobby Flay's Red Velvet Cake)

Frosting:

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

7 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups superfine sugar (make your own by pulsing sugar in a food processor, measure after processing)

Combine the cream, milk, vanilla bean and seeds in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove the vanilla bean and discard.

Make a thick paste with flour and a small amount of the milk mixture.  Add the flour paste to remaining milk mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened to a paste, about 2 minutes. Scrape into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 2 hours.

Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until the mixture is very fluffy and the sugar is totally dissolved, about 6 minutes. Add the cold paste, a few tablespoons at a time to the butter mixture and whip until light and fluffy.