Mint Julep Cupcakes

Step 1

Make the cakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

Step 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. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, bourbon, and crème de menthe. Add flour and bourbon mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour. The batter will be thick. Fill cupcake papers with 1/4 cup level measures of batter. Bake for 17-22 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

Step 3

Make the frosting: In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the butter and confectioners’ sugar on low speed. If making the piped buttercream roses, add milk or cream a little at a time until the mixture is firm and thick. You should be able to pick the frosting up with a spatula and turn it over without the frosting falling off of the spatula. Beat on high 3 minutes. Add mint extract and beat again. Divide the frosting in half and tint one half a pale coral color by adding 1-2 drops of each gel food color. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with #150 (or Wilton petal decorator tip. Tint the remaining frosting a more intense coral color with 4-6 drops of each gel food color. Transfer to a separate piping bag fitted with the #150 (or Wilton #petal decorator tip. Pipe buttercream roses on cooled cupcakes per the instructions in the blog post. Use the instructional video for reference, if needed.

Step 4

If not piping the buttercream roses, omit the pink and orange food color. Add a drop of green food color for pale mint green frosting color, if desired. You may thin the frosting with additional heavy cream so that it is easily spreadable. Spread frosting on top of cooled cupcakes.