Better with Booze: Vodka-Laced Mango Cupcakes

"It's better with booze" has always been a personal motto of mine.

Plain ol' pot roast for dinner? It's better with booze!

Boring baby shower? It's better with booze!

A cold winter night? It's better with booze!

Church? It's better with booze!

So, when I saw that the theme for this month's Cupcake Hero event was booze, I decided to whip up some liquor-laced goodies because....DESSERT IS BETTER WITH BOOZE!

I actually invented a recipe for this event, one which I am very proud of because--as I've said before--I'm no baker. I knew I wanted to do something with Absolut New Orleans, a mango & black pepper flavored vodka. So, this is a vanilla cupcake with a vodka-soaked mango center and vodka buttercream icing.

Never heard of Absolut New Orleans? It was released last fall, the first in a series to honor American cities. The flavors are supposed to represent the cities' cultural spirit, and all proceeds are donated to those cities.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
1 ripe mango
1/2 cup Absolut New Orleans vodka

• Preheat oven to 350.
  
• Peel and finely chop mango. Marinate mango in the vodka (use enough to cover completely) for 1/2 hour or more. Drain but save the juice for cocktails!
  
• Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in extract.
• Add flour & milk, alternately, to sugar mixture.
• Fill 12 cupcake liners with 1 heaping tablespoon of batter.
• Add 1 teaspoon of mango to each cupcake.

• Top each with another heaving tablespoon of batter. Add more batter to each to fill liners 3/4 full.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until cupcakes are done.
• Remove from pan and let cool completely before icing.
  

For the icing:

1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons Absolut New Orleans vodka

• Cream butter, salt, & vanilla until light and fluffy.
• Add sugar, gradually.
• Add vodka, one tablespoon at a time, and beat until smooth.
• If you're feeling sassy, add a couple cranks of black pepper to the icing.
  
• Ice cupcakes.
• Eat a bunch and catch a buzz.