Butterbeer Cupcakes: A Nerd Love Story

My sister just left after a great weekend visit full of...mostly nothing. We ran errands, went swimming, ate a lot, and baked these Butterbeer cupcakes. 

Little sister and I are both huge Harry Potter fans, and will do, eat, read, and watch anything that has to do with our favorite story. Two years ago we spent three days at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Orlando, and they were arguably some of the best days I can remember (we even got selected for the wand demonstration. My life is complete.) While we were there we drank more than our fair share of Butterbeer and Pumpkin Fizz. So when I saw this recipe on AmyBites, I knew we had to give them a try. And I'm glad we did. They're as close to butterbeer as you can get outside Hogwarts, with a delicious butterscotch filling as a surprise. They're worth the time and effort, as evidenced by my sister's happy, rapid inhalation. Enjoy!

Butterbeer Cupcakes

yield: 16-18

For the cupcakes:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda

For the ganache:
1 11-oz. package butterscotch chips
1 cup heavy cream

For the frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup butterscotch ganache
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 16-oz. package powdered sugar
Splash of milk or cream (as needed)

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, cream your butter until light and fluffy. Add your sugars and beat until well-combined. Beat in your eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then beat in your vanilla and butter flavoring.

Alternate adding your buttermilk, cream soda, and dry ingredients in batches until all are well incorporated. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full, then bake for 15 to 17 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch. Cool completely on wire racks.

For butterscotch filling: In a double boiler, combine butterscotch chips and heavy cream and stir until completely combined and smooth. Cool to room temperature. Set aside 1/3 of ganache for frosting; Fill a squeeze bottle with the remainder and insert into the center of each cupcake, squeezing until filling begins to overflow.

For the frosting: Cream butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add in ganache, vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt and mix until well combined. Beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until reaching desired consistency. Add milk or cream by the Tablespoon as needed. Frost cupcakes and top with a drizzle of butterscotch ganache.