My most recent baking challenge was to create cupcakes inspired by a drink, and to also decorate them the way the drink would be presented. This was a toughie because there were a billion fruity drink cupcakes I wanted to make (strawberry daquiri, pina colada)but alas...I'm functioning on the poor college student's budget. So I was lucky enough to stumble upon a really great cupcake recipe inspired by an equally wonderful drink that I had all the ingredients for! This drink is my wingman at the bar, the first drink I order almost every time I go out, because it's a nice simple starter and always puts
me in a good mood=the Cuba Libre, also know as the Rum & Coke!
"Cuba Libre" means "Free Cuba" in Spanish, and I'm no history buff but I thought it was pretty neat that the origins of the drink are said to have come from during the Spanish-American War in...you guessed it...Cuba. Legend has it that a soldier ordered the drink for the first time and enjoyed it so much that they rallied together and toasted with the phrase "Por Cuba Libre!", which was the battle cry they used in their war for independence. The variation between the Carribbean Cuba Libre and the American Rum & Coke is that the Carribbean version usually always includes lime juice and lime, while in the US it's optional.
These cupcakes were a delight to make, and they disappeared so fast!
You can find the blog I found the recipe on here: http://www.coconutandlime.com/2007/01/cuba-libre-cupcakes.html
The only problem I encountered with these cupcakes: the dipping in the middle! I just don't know how to fix this! I've consulted baking websites who say it can be a variety of things: overmixing, undermixing, too much butter/heavy ingredient in the batter, opening the oven too early, the oven being too hot, etc...:( if anyone has any advice let me know!
The Cream Cheese Rum Chocolate Frosting was amazing! I didn't leave the cream cheese out long enough so it was lumpy at first, but a quick 10 secs in the microwave fixed that. Also, note the convenient Coca-Cola bowl ;)
And here are my baby Cuba Libre cupcakes!!!
