Beer Cupcakes!

This idea came through Pinterest: Blue Moon cupcakes with a light, airy frosting. Since the original recipe, from Miss Make, wasn't vegan, I altered things quite a bit, but man on man what a great idea! These cupcakes are light and fluffy, with a hint of that Hefeweizen wheat flavor, paired perfectly with orange. Mmmmmmmmm Blue Moon, sweetened and in cupcake form.

I made these for a beer tasting party we went to this weekend, and they were a total hit.

Recipe inspired by Miss Make's Blue Moon Cupcakes, and adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World's Orange Pudding Cupcakes
Makes 24 mini cupcakes + 4 regular sized ones, or 12 large cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:

• 1 cup Blue Moon beer
• 1/4 cup almond or soy milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp orange zest

For the frosting:

• 2 Tbsp vegan butter
• 1/4 cup vegan shortening
• 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 and 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp vanilla almond or soy milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp orange zest, plus extra for decorating if desired

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. Prepare the cupcakes: First mix together the sugar & butter in a large bowl. Then add the milk, extract, beer, and 1 Tbsp of the flour. In a separate bowl, sift the remaining flour with the baking powder, soda, and salt. Add the flour mix to the wet mix and combine well. Add in the orange zest last.
3. Bake for ~22 minutes for large/regular sized cupcakes, and about 15-18 minutes for mini ones, or until golden brown and the cupcakes hold when you press back on them lightly with your finger. 
4. To make the frosting, cream together the butters, and then add the remaining ingredients, and mix on high. You can alter the sweetness and consistency by adding more powdered sugar, or more juice to make thinner- I liked keeping the frosting a little lightly sweet and creamy for these to go with the beer theme.

The lightly orange-flavored frosting goes perfectly with the Blue-Moon infused cupcakes, which also have a hint of orange in them.

The guests at the party had no idea these cupcakes were vegan, and everyone kept going back for more ... that's why I like making mini cupcakes- people are always shy to take big ones, but no-one holds back from the minis! Or multiple minis ;-). People also always seem so shocked to hear baked goods can be created without eggs and butter, and that vegan baked goods can actually taste delicious and be as good (or better!) than regular ones. But trust me, it's not hard, they can, and they do! As these amazing Blue Moon cupcakes prove.

Blue Moon + cupcakes = YUM.