Ginger Ale Cupcakes

Today I have a fun little giveaway with my favorite party supply shop – Hey YoYo!  Whenever I need a jolt of inspiration, I just hop on over to the online store to get a fix of kitsch and color.  Amanda is the shopkeep, and she has an eye for the cutest cupcake papers, treat bags and partyware of all kinds!

I recently received some squee!-worthy items from the shop, like these party hats. They’re reversible! And how cute are those confetti napkins? The pattern reminds me of sprinkles, so I was in for those immediately! Honestly, I fell in love with the entire Toot Sweet line of paper napkins, cupcake liners, pinwheel toppers and etcetera. Gimme, gimme, gimme!

My good friend Christen was having a birthday, so she was the perfect person to help model party hats. She also came up with the idea for ginger ale cupcakes (which look extra cute in these liners). They really turned out delicious and quite apropos for party fare.

Love those Pinwheel Toppers!

Christen’s cute pooch tagged along and he was caught giving crazy puppy-dog eyes for a bite of cupcake. Awww!  And you should have seen him and Biscuit-the-pug playing together, they were double trouble!

Contest Entry

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This contest is open worldwide because Hey YoYo ships worldwide, how awesome is that!?

Balloon toppers can be found here!

The ginger ale cupcakes were light and delicious. Christen commented that the cake portion tasted “bubbly”, and with their faint gingery flavor, they do! We toasted each other with them after a day filled with laughing and chasing rambunctious pups.  Hope you’ll enjoy them too!

Ginger Ale Cupcakes

[click for printable version]

Source: SprinkleBakes original recipe

Yield: About 18 cupcakes

Prep:  1 hour 15
minutes

Ginger Ale Cake

1/2 cup butter softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup ginger ale

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle
   attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time beating well after
   each addition. Add vanilla and mix. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking
   powder, salt and ground ginger; set aside. 
   In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup ginger ale and 1/2 cup sour
   cream (mixture will fizz and bubble a little). 
   Add flour and champagne mixture alternately, beginning and ending with
   flour.  Batter will be thick.
3. Fill cupcake papers with 1/4 cup level measures of
   batter.  Bake for 17-22 minutes.  Set aside.

Ginger Ale Buttercream

1 cup ginger ale

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

1 tsp. ground ginger

2 sticks of butter softened

4 cups confectioners’ sugar

1. Place the 1 cup of ginger ale in a small saucepan.  Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to
   1/2 cup.  Reduce heat to low. In a small
   cup, whisk together cornstarch and water until no lumps remain.  Add mixture to 1/2 cup ginger ale
   reduction.  Whisk constantly as you
   heat.  Mixture will thicken and have a
   soft gel appearance.  Remove from heat
   and whisk in ground ginger.  Transfer
   mixture to a bowl and allow to cool completely.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk
   attachment, cream softened butter and cooled ginger ale mixture together until
   smooth.  Stir in confectioners’ sugar 1
   cup at a time on low speed until thickened to piping consistency.  You may not have to use all the
   confectioners’ sugar.  Conversely, If the
   ginger ale gel mixture is added while still slightly hot or if it was not
   cooked enough, you may need to add more confectioners’ sugar.
3. Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large
   star tip and pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Decorate with white nonpareils.