My Grandfather was a big fan of Bourbon. I remember cuddling up to him as he read the newspaper and sipped his Bourbon. I took a sip once while he left the room for a second and thought I was going to throw up. Actually it was more of a burning-I'm-going-to-choke sensation. And then it went to a get-this-car-battery-acid out of my stomach feeling. Overall, it wasn't pleasant. From that day on I stayed as far away from Bourbon as I could. Until just recently.
I wanted to create a fun flavor for the Holidays. Something unexpected. My mother (and business partner) and I found a recipe for a pudding that used eggnog. And the idea of an eggnog cupcake seemed fabulous.
We started by creating the eggnog pudding and the recipe called for Bourbon. I instantly cringed but stuck to the recipe. We then had to figure out what kind of cake to create. We mixed a base vanilla batter and then added several spices like nutmeg that made the raw batter taste more holiday-like. Once the cupcakes cooled, we piped in the Bourbon eggnog pudding into each cupcake. The aroma of the spices with the Bourbon eggnog was to die for. I was shocked on how yummy they smelled. Then came the frosting. We experimented with our buttercream which is our signature. It's what people love the most about our cupcakes. But instead of adding an eggnog mix to it, we went a step further and added more Bourbon along with a syrup. The end product was a knock-out.
I have now graduated to liking Bourbon in baked goods. It's a small step. But I'm proud.
Now we just have to work on the presentation.
