Crème de noyaux liqueur is an almond flavored liqueur found at specialty liquor stores. If you can't find it, use any almond flavored liqueur or extract in its place.
1/4cupcrème de noyaux liqueuralso called crème de almond
1/4cupclear or white crème de cocoa liqueur
1/4teaspoonalmond extract
Pink gel food coloroptional
Crème de noyaux frosting
2sticks of butter softened
4cupsconfectioners' sugar
1/4cupcrème de noyaux liqueur
Pink gel food color
White nonpareils for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make the cakes: 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 and salt, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, crème noyaux, crème do cocoa and almond extract. Add flour and sour cream mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Beat in a drop of pink food color, if using. Batter will be thick.
Fill cupcake papers with 1/4 cup level measures of batter. Bake for 17-22 minutes. Set aside.
Make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream softened butter and powdered sugar together. Once the frosting is thick, add the crème de noyaux one tablespoon at a time while beating on medium-low speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add a drop of pink gel food color; mix well.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with nonpareils. Garnish the cupcakes with a glittering squirrel topper (recipe follows). You may also choose to top the cupcakes with maraschino cherries with stems, as this is the usual Pink Squirrel Cocktail garnish.
Note: If you’d like to forgo the liqueur in the recipe, then omit the crème de cocoa and crème de noyaux and replace the two with 1/2 cup cream soda. Increase the almond extract to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
Pink squirrel toppers
8 oz. ready-made gum paste
Pink gel food color
3-inch squirrel cookie cutter
Corn syrup
Pink disco dust
Knead the gum paste well before starting. Knead in a drop of pink gel food color if desired (I used both pink and white gum paste for my squirrels).
Roll the gum paste to 1/4-inch thickness. Using the squirrel cookie cutter, cut shapes from the paste. Re-roll scraps and cut more shapes until you have a total of 17 (or the number of cupcakes you ended up with). Transfer the squirrels to a sheet of waxed paper. Brush one side of the cut-outs lightly with corn syrup. Sprinkle disco dust over the shapes. Let dry at least 4 hours or overnight. The shapes are ready when they are dry, rigid and can stand upright. Shake off excess disco dust.
Place a pink squirrel topper standing upright in the centers of each cupcake.
Keyword creme de cocoa, crème de noyaux liqueur, pink squirrel cocktail