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