Coffee Stout Cupcakes

If I had one word to describe these cupcakes, it would be phenomenal. These coffee stout cupcakes were damn near perfect in every way. They were not too sweet, nor too bitter. The flavors did not compete; they complimented each other perfectly. I baked these cupcakes for me. It's very rare I bake for myself these days, but when I do, I try to come up with a flavor that encompasses all my likes. This cupcake really hit the spot because it had my three favorite flavors: chocolate, coffee, and beer. I topped them with a chocolate-covered espresso bean.

Stout Cupcakes
Source: adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

1 and 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 oz. stout beer (I used Terrapin Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Stout.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake tin with 12 paper cupcake liners. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and set aside. In another bowl, beat together oil, vinegar, vanilla, and beer with a hand mixer on medium-high speed. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake about 18–22 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Coffee Icing

1 stick butter (room temperature)
2–3 cups powdered sugar
3–4 tablespoons very strong coffee

Beat butter until smooth and fluffy with a mixer on medium speed. With mixer on low speed, add powdered sugar one cup at a time and coffee one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Add more coffee or powdered sugar if needed. Beat until smooth and fluffy.