Craft Beer, Cupcakes Pair Up for Beer Necessities Event

A couple dozen craft beer loving ladies piled into WhichCraft Beer Store Monday, Feb. 23 to sample decadent cupcakes baked using an array of craft beers and cider. The event, organized by the Austin chapter of the all female beer tasting group Beer Necessities, featured sweet treats from local baking start-up Boozy’s Cupcakes.

There was the Aspall Hard Cider Cupcake stuffed with a whiskey caramel apple compote, an Elevation Beer Co. Señorita Imperial Porter Cupcake with an Horchata Buttercream Frosting and the Hitachino Nest Chocolate Espresso Stout Cupcake topped with Nutella Frosting.

All of the cupcakes were paired with the beer or cider used in their batters, giving attendees the opportunity to savor the flavors side by side.

Check out photos from the event below, along with a Q&A with Alex Altman, the founder/baker of  Boozy’s Cupcakes. In it, she shares some tips and tricks for incorporating beer and other alcoholic beverages into your baked goods.

Beer Necessities throws frequent meet ups like this one around Austin. If you’re a woman who is interested in sharing a beer with other women, check out their Meetup Page.

Q&A with Alex Altman of Boozy’s Cupcakes

Bitch Beer: For folks who aren’t familiar with Boozy’s, can you tell them a little about your business?
Alex Altman: Boozy’s Cupcakes uses craft beer, cider, and other alcoholic beverages to inspire new ways of enjoying cupcakes. I love taking a person’s favorite beer and creating a tasty recipe from it that highlights its flavors!

BB: What tips do you have for people who are new to baking with beer or other alcohol?
AA: My biggest tip, really, is just to use your imagination to its fullest– the possibilities are endless as long as you’re willing to explore all kinds of flavor possibilities and, above all, be prepared for lots of trial and error.

BB: Tell me about one of your favorite cupcake recipes!
AA: So many of my recipes have really surprised me, but I will tell you about one I love making: my hard cider cupcake. I bake the cider into the cupcake itself and put a compote of whiskey, caramel, and apple in the center, topping it with a delicious whiskey-buttercream frosting. I’ve always enjoyed a little cider with my whiskey.

BB: What are your favorite kinds of events to do?
AA: Personally, I enjoy all the events I do because I love being able to introduce Boozy’s Cupcakes to people. Watching the look of surprise that people have when they find out there’s booze in it is always fun, but it gets even more satisfying when I creepily watch people take the first bite, and then instantly want to share them with friends. Events like the ones held at WhichCraft are always amazing because it is wonderful to see so many women who have an appreciation for craft beer and be there to provide a different way for them to experience it.

BB: When most people think about incorporating beer into desserts, they probably think about using dark, roasty beers like porters and stouts. Have you experimented with more unexpected beer styles in your baking? What have been some of the outcomes?
AA: Yep. I do love to use porters and stouts but a few of my more surprising favorites have come from branching out. In college I always loved putting Nutella on, well, everything, but especially my mom’s banana bread. I make an awesome banana cupcake using a hefeweizen for its really deep banana and clove notes. And of course, in true Alex form, I put a Nutella cream cheese frosting on it. Are you drooling yet?  I also really love my most recent experiment: making limoncello cupcakes with a fresh raspberry buttercream.

BB: How can people contact you if they’d like to have your cupcakes at an event?
AA: My website will be up and running very soon, but for now I do have a Facebook page: www.facebook.com/boozyscupcakes. And everyone feel free to email me at boozyscupcakes@gmail.com. And be sure to check out boozyscupcakes on instagram to see pictures of recent events and experiments!!!

-Caroline