honey and sour cream cupcakes with whisky buttercream

This will be my last post for a couple of weeks as I'm off to the world of dial up internet (otherwise known as holiday time!).  Two weeks of very intense poolside activity doesn't leave me much time for blogging.  Although I have just looked at the weather forecast and there are storms over the weekend which is ridiculous.  I'm hoping that the normal curse of the BBC forecast will strike and the weather will actually do the complete opposite.  I'll be spending the next couple of weeks at my parents' house in France.  I posted some pictures from when I was there at Easter which is such a pretty time of year.  Summer is less pretty; the ground is parched and the grass is brown.  But it's still my favourite couple of weeks of the year.  

I haven't really got my head into holiday-mode yet though.  I packed last weekend as my parents drove my suitcase down to the house earlier this week so, in theory, I'm ready to go.  I think it's partly to do with the weather.  I know the US has been gripped by a heatwave but the it's been pretty miserable here (obviously not today because the weather gods know I'm going on holiday tomorrow) and it's hard to really comprehend the fact that it's the middle of July when you're still wearing black tights and cardigans.  It's also hard to shake the feeling that I should have at least two months off  in the summer and the fact that I actually have to work at this time of year does not amuse me. 

But anyway, I'm leaving you with this recipe and goodness me, it's a good 'un.  Despite my slightly irrational dislike of cupcakes, I keep going back to them.  The sour cream in these cupcakes keeps them wonderfully moist (my usual issue with cupcakes) and there's that warm sweetness from the honey.  I had planned to make a sour cream buttercream to frost the cupcakes but I'm an idiot and didn't buy enough sour cream so I had to improvise.  And what better to improvise with than booze?  These cupcakes don't need a huge amount of frosting but the hint of whisky and a sprinkling of pecans turn these into something pretty darn delicious.

A note on quantities, I *think* this is the right amount of frosting for the number of cakes but I can't guarantee it as I only ended up frosting about half of mine as I was feeling a little delicate from too much champagne the previous evening and the smell of whisky was not conducive to my happiness.  Don't bake with a hangover kids, it's not fun. 

Honey and sour cream cupcakes with whisky buttercream (Makes 18)

For the cupcakes:

150ml honey

115g unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

250g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder

250ml sour cream

For the frosting:

100g butter

485g icing sugar

3 tbsps whisky 

Chopped pecans to sprinkle on top

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F.  Line a cupcake tin with paper cases.

2.  Cream together the butter and honey, add the eggs and beat and until light and fluffy.

3.  Add half of the dry ingredients, then half the sour cream, then the rest of the dry ingredients and the rest of the sour cream.  Stir until just combined.

4.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

5.  To make the frosting, cream the butter and add the icing sugar and whisky.  Beat for 5-10 minutes until creamy and smooth.