Super Bowl Sweets

Tonight is the Super Bowl, a time to gather with friends and family to gorge yourselves on beer, hot dogs, and bowls full of some kind of Tostitos chips, and occasionally to catch glimpses of the football game. You're just watching for the commercials, right?

I came across a post from Amy Atlas and was intrigued... a beer infused cupcake, perfect for tonight's festivities. Here's the recipe:

Cake:
1 cup flavorful dark beer– I used Rogue Mocha Porter as recommended in the original recipe. You can find this beer at Total Wine or World of Beer.
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Combine the beer and butter in a large sauce pan and heat to melt. Remove from heat; whisk in the cocoa, sugar, and espresso. In a bowl, whisk the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla, then whisk into the beer mixture. Sift together the flour and baking soda, and fold into the batter.
Pour into cupcake pan (you can go a little more than ¾ full on these) and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.

Salted Caramel:
4 tablespoons water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt, kosher or sea

Combine the water, sugar, and the corn syrup in a deep saucepan and cook over medium heat—stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Cover the saucepan and let it cook over medium/medium-low heat for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, remove the lid, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. (Do not stir from this point on, but once it starts to turn brown at the edge you should carefully shake/swirl the pan so that one area of the caramel does not burn.) Continue to cook until the caramel turns an even amber color then remove from the heat and let stand for about 30 seconds. Pour the heavy cream into the mixture. Be careful. The mixture will bubble up! Stir the mixture. Add the butter, lemon juice, and salt. Stir until combined. Pour into a Pyrex measuring cup. Stirring occasionally, allow to cool until thick and warm, about 20 minutes.

Frosting:
1.5 sticks butter at room temperature
6 ounces cream cheese
4-5 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup salted caramel

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Sift 2 cups of powdered sugar into the cream cheese mixture and beat to combine. Add 3/4 cup of the salted caramel and beat to combine. Sift rest of powder sugar, in 1 cup increments and beating between each, until you arrive at the thickness and sweetness you desire.

I found the icing to be a bit messy, but quite delicious. The cake itself is not sweet, but the icing is, so they are a good offset for one another. I topped the icing with a little bit of espresso, but would recommend maybe just a few sprinkles of salt instead. Unless you are a serious coffee lover, the espresso tends to be a bit overpowering. Hope you enjoy this unique recipe!