Lots of Cupcakes

Since I haven't posted in awhile, I figured I would do a big giant post of...two cupcakes that I have made recently. I apologize for the crappiness of the photos--apparently, just because they look good on my cell phone, doesn't mean they actually look good.

So, I make a lot of cupcakes and then I ice them so that I, on my diet, do not eat them. These first cupcakes were made for a a friend's 21st birthday party.

CHOCOLATE AMARETTO ORANGE CUPCAKES

FOR THE CUPCAKES:
1 box german chocolate cake mix [or regular chocolate, but I used german]
Enough Amaretto to replace the water

However many eggs + oil it calls for

Make & bake as directed on the box. It won't be too strongly amaretto, but you'll be able to detect a difference in the cake. If you want more Amarettoyness, try adding some almond extract.

FOR THE FROSTING:
1 1/4 stick softened butter
A lot of powdered sugar [I eyeball it]
1-2 tsp of orange zest, depending on your taste
1-2 tbsp of Amaretto, depending on how much you make. Could be more, as well.

I just made this like I made the frosting for the Mimosa Cupcakes. Then, to pipe, I use a gallon sized ziploc bag with the end snipped off and it gives nice, fat swirls. I only used one stick of butter and didn't get enough for all of the cupcakes, but I think the extra 1/4 stick should do it. You'll at least have enough to frost/taste some, even though they may be ugly. :]

BEER AND PRETZEL CUPCAKES
These cupcakes were for a bake sale and a lot of people said they were the best cupcakes they'd ever had. If you need to impress people, definitely bring them a beer flavored cupcake. Irish Car Bomb cupcakes also go well, but more on that later.

FOR THE CUPCAKE:
By now, I'm assuming you've realized that I alter boxed mixes, so I'm just going to tell you what I've put in.

1 box yellow cake mix
1 bottle Yeungling or other light colored beer [should be enough]
eggs + oil

FOR THE FROSTING:
8 oz neufchatel cream cheese [or regular cream cheese, but this is 1/3 the amount of fat and it tastes the same in frosting]
Powdered sugar

Make this the same way that you would make the above frosting, except it does not need liquid. It will also be a bit runnier than the buttercream. Again, I piped it on with a gallon sized bag with the end snipped off. AFTER, however, to get the pretzel--crush some pretzels in a bag and then sprinkle them on. Mine came out as pretzel pieces, but I think next time, I'd crush them finer to get sort of a pretzel dust. These are also good as mini cupcakes, because then you get the beer-pretzel-cheese flavor all in one bite. Suuuper yummy.