Baking with alcohol is fun.

I made some alcoholic cupcakes this past weekend.

More specifically, I made White Russian Cupcakes using Kahlua and Vodka!

A friend came over to make some brownies, and while they were in the oven, I went to Pinterest to find a cupcake recipe to whip together. I saw this recipe and just had to make it.

I love this recipe, and when I took them to class, everyone else also loved them, so I decided I should reshare this recipe with the world!

I got the recipe from the great blog Baked Perfection, which also has recipes for Pina Colada Cupcakes, Mint Julep Cupcakes, and Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes.

Now, before you get worried about my using alcohol in cupcakes, I will share what was noted alongside the original recipe: while Kahlua is 20% alcohol by volume, vanilla extract is 35% alcohol by volume.

Therefore, while I put alcohol in the frosting, it was actually less alcohol by volume than the normal vanilla buttercream frosting I make.

White Russian Cupcakes

This made 36 mini cupcakes and 8 regular cupcakes for me.

Oven temp: 350 degrees Fahrenheit

6 tbsp (3/4 stick) of butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 cup Vodka
1/8 cup Kahlua
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour


-> Cream the butter and sugar
-> Add the eggs
-> Mix in the vanilla, milk, Vodka and Kahlua.
-> Add the salt, baking powder and flour.

-> Bake in cupcake liners (approximately 10 minutes for mini cupcakes and 20 minutes for regular cupcakes, but this will vary between ovens and other variants, so keep an eye on them)

Now, you could eat these cupcakes alone, and they would be fine. However, this buttercream frosting is fantastic, so you shouldn't skip it.

The frosting would also probably taste great on top of fudge brownies. . . not that I would know. 

Kahlua Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter

3 cups powdered sugar

3 tbsp Kahlua

1 tbsp Vodka (optional, but recommended)

A pinch of salt

-> Beat the butter until it's creamy

-> Add salt and powdered sugar (slowly, so you don't get a cloud of sugar all over)

-> Add Vodka and Kahlua

-> Taste and adjust as you see fit.

The result:

These cupcakes are delicious and perfect for basically any occasion.

Planning to make these cupcakes again soon,

The Purple Writer