Samuel Adams Cupcakes

It is time to make some cupcakes with a fine beer, Samuel Adams.

I originally saw this recipe in the Orange County Register on April 22nd. However, a quick search will turn this up in many places online. All the recipes are the same. This is a problem because they all turn out terrible. I left the cupcakes in for twice as long as the recipe states and they still looked questionable and unbaked. Whoever wrote the recipe must have been drinking a few Sam Adams.

The original recipe has all the ingredients below, except with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and 3/4 cup flour. For my changes I left out the water, increased the Samuel Adams to 3/4 cup, and pushed the flour to 1 cup. With my new recipe I baked a dozen which turned out better. I bumped the temperature up to 350 from the originally mandated 325 for the second batch and they baked even better. The original recipe also neglects to tell you to add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder to the mix. As I said, someone must have been drinking when writing the recipe.

Now my new and improved recipe.

Boston Lager 25th Anniversary Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup Samuel Adams Boston Lager
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter, sugar, and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. Add in eggs and mix until thoroughly combined. Mix in flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Pour in Boston Lager, then salt. Mix until mixture is smooth and there are no lumps.

Line muffin tin with muffin liners. Pour approximately 3 – 4 oz into each cup. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. The recipe's official yield is 2 dozen, but I ended up with 20 or 22 using my "that looks good" method of filling the cups.


For these I used some Pillsbury frosting I wanted to finish up at home. Consequently, I did not test this frosting recipe. However, with a cup of butter it has to be good!

Boston Lager Butter Cream Frosting
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon whipping cream
2 tablespoons Samuel Adams Boston Lager

In a standing mixer with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended, then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract, Boston Lager, and whipping cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed.