Illicit Delights - Mini Boozy Cupcakes by Yours Truly

Once upon a time I had a few amazing boozy cupcake from a place in New York City called, Prohibition Bakery.  This trip was the same trip I went in search of a Robicelli's cupcake for the first time, back in July-ish of 2013.  The entire trip turned into a cupcake and sweets tour and I couldn't have been happier.  It's true that there are plenty of great cupcake and sweets shops all over San Francisco, but I had never tasted anything quite like the Prohibition Bakery cupcake "Pretzels and Beer."  The cupcake was everything it claimed to be and I was instantly in love.  I immediately sampled a "Dark and Stormy" as well as a "Car Bomb."  Suddenly I knew what I wanted to do, I wanted to do what these two fabulously women were doing in NYC - I wanted to bake mini boozy cupcakes.

I started by trying out some of Prohibition's cupcakes at home.  Lucky for me they had shared some recipes online.  Then, I got a hold of the Robicelli's cupcake book and went on my cupcake adventure (which is still in progress, derailed slightly, but still in progress as of September 23rd, 2014), and then I started coming up with my own creations.  Finally I created my own cupcake base and butter cream mixture.  During this whole process I started culinary school at San Francisco Cooking School.  That's right, culinary school, not pastry school.  I wanted to better understand food science from all aspects of food, not just dessert.  I took in cupcakes every week to school for my classmates to enjoy, and after creating my own base and butter cream I decided it was time to take a leap.

I knew I didn't want a brick and mortar shop, and I liked the idea of being able to create cupcakes for people based on their flavor profiles so I looked into baking out of my house - catering style.  Lucky for me California has some awesome Cottage Industry Laws that allow me to do just that - within reason.  As of August 7th, 2014 I officially have Illicit Delights LLC, and am currently finishing up paperwork and permits with the city of San Francisco. 

I'm two more approvals away from being legitimate and cannot wait to share my delicious creations with you!

 

Cupcakes: Creme Brulee, Pecan French Toast, Car Bomb, The Elvis, and The Iona

Woah, I just realized how long it's been since I updated my cupcake adventure.  I've made half the recipes in the Robicelli's cook book.  Per usual, if you don't know about my personal cooking challenge you can check it out in this previous post.

Creme Brulee - Vanilla Cupcake, Vanilla Custard Buttercream, and Caramelized Sugar

The Creme Brulee cupcakes were pretty straight forward and a total hit with my classmates.  Making the various caramel topping was really easy.  I didn't make any adjustments to this recipe.  The only thing I'd change is breaking down the caramel more so it was smaller. 

 

 Pecan French Toast- Cinnamon Cupcake, Maple Cinnamon Buttercream, with Maple Glazed Pecans

OMG! This was so amazingly delicious!  It tastes like breakfast.  I would make this cupcake again, it was a huge hit.

 

 Car Bomb - Guiness Chocolate Stout Cupcake, Baileys Buttercream, and Jameson Chocolate Ganache

I specifically saved this cupcake for St. Patrick's Day and it was great!  The chocolate cake was really dense but still super delish and moist.  I think I'd go lighter on the Jameson in the ganache next time but it was still really good.

 

 The Elvis - Banana Cupcake, Peanut Butter Buttercream, Candied Bacon

These are the most beautiful cupcakes I've baked so far.  They came out perfectly domed on top and they were super moist.  I went ahead and added more cinnamon to the cake because I'm a huge fan of cinnamon.  I used my favorite powdered peanut butter in the frosting, and instead of using brown sugar to candy the bacon I used maple syrup. 

The Iona - Pear Olive Oil Cupcake, Blue Cheese Buttercream, Port Reduction, and Candied Walnuts

The best way to describe this cupcake is mild.  The flavors are all nice and easy and blend really well.  I used a really mild blue cheese, Point Reyes Bay Blue, in the frosting and that made all the difference. 

I wanted to try a few other cupcakes so I made some of Prohibition Bakery's recipes.

 

Irish Coffee - Coffee Cupcake with Jameson Frosting

I made this cupcake exactly as the recipe says.  It was really delicious but I'm not a fan of powdered sugar frosting.  The cake was really great.  If I were to make this cupcake again I'd use my buttercream recipe and add the Jameson to that. 

 

Dark and Stormy - Ginger Cupcake with Rum Buttercream and Lime Zest

Absolutely delicious!  I used my buttercream frosting for this cupcake instead of the powdered sugar frosting.  In the future I'd add more rum to the frosting, or maybe use a different rum.  I used Kraken, and I think it's too sweet to really taste the rum.

Drake's Drakonic Chocolate Stout Cupcake, Brown Butter Buttercream and Sea Salt

I'm pleased to say this is my first original cupcake.  I used the Robicelli's stout cupcake recipe and Prohibition Bakery's stout recipe for inspiration but the final product was my doing.  I specifically made this for a small Drake's event at Shotwells Bar. 



So, I've now made 24 of the Robicelli cupcake recipes!  YUM!  Only 26 more to go!

:)M