Black Licorice Cupcakes

Ease of Preparation: Medium

Yield: 18 cupcakes

Chef Siobhan Detkavich is cooking for… Scorpio! So… what does a Fire Sign with a ruling planet of Mars eat? Scorpios can be sweet but watch that sting! These little cupcakes balance perfectly between sugar and anise-y black licorice, black being the colour of Scorpio.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• 2 ½ cups (590 ml) all purpose flour, sifted
• 1 ½ tablespoons (22.5 ml) baking powder
• ½ cup (120 ml) sugar
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt
• 1 cup (120 ml) fancy (sweet) molasses
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ½ cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
• 1 ½ cups (350 ml) whole milk
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) anise liqueur (such as Jägermeister or Sambuca)

Frosting:

• 1 ½ cups (350 ml) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 cups (950 ml) powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) anise extract
• 1 ounce (28 g) black food colouring gel

Special Equipment:

• Muffin liners
• Sliced licorice candies, to garnish
• Licorice sprinkles, to garnish

Method:

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare 2 standard (12 x 3 ½ fluid ounce/100 ml) cupcake pans with liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

In a second bowl, mix molasses, eggs, oil, milk, and anise liqueur.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together with a spatula until just combined.

Fill the cups of the prepared cupcake pans almost all the way to the top.

Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

For the Frosting:

In a stand mixer or in a bowl beat butter vigorously until light and fluffy.

Mix in powdered sugar a little bit at a time.

Mix in the anise liqueur and food coloring.

To Serve:

Spread or pipe the Frosting onto cooled Cupcakes.

Garnish cupcakes with sliced licorice candies and licorice sprinkles