Southern Comfcakes (with honey cream cheese frosting)
Not long ago, I accepted ownership of a few unopened bottles of booze that were left over…
…from my mom’s wedding in 1980.
In many ways, I regard them as my older siblings. Of course, a couple of these siblings only survived into their early 30s, which is some Downton Abbey-flavored tragedy unless you happen to be a bottle of Scotch.
However, due to some dubious college experiences and a general disinclination toward sugary drinks, the Southern Comfort has posed a singular challenge.
I have finally accepted this challenge.
It has become cake.
Did you know that when you make cake from a mix, you can replace the liquid with booze if you want? This is especially helpful if you drool over chocolate whiskey cupcakes on Pinterest, but lack the commitment to get all sifty in the kitchen. It’s also a great way to turn an ordinary box cake into a fancy grown-up dessert while dismissing suggestions to act fancy or grown up yourself.
The difference between preparing your cakes with water and preparing them with SoCo is just what you might imagine: the finished cakes have a hint of whiskey and spice, as well as the slightest alcoholic bite, which fades after a day or so.
I complemented the flavor with an easy honey cream cheese glaze, though you could use just about anything you like. For instance, a peach glaze would be interesting, to bring out the subtle peach flavor of Southern Comfort. Or you can dust the cakes with powdered sugar and call it a day, because you started with a $2 box of cake powder and laboring over a six-ingredient icing might be gilding the lily a bit.
Southern Comfcakes (a perfectly horrible-sounding name for a perfectly nice cake)
Yield: whatever it says on the box
- 1 box cake mix of your choice (yellow and fudge marble both work nicely)
- 1 cup Southern Comfort
- whatever it asks for on the cake mix box
- Make and bake the cake according to the package, substituting 1 cup Southern Comfort for 1 cup of the liquid called for in the directions. For example, if the box asks for 1 1/4 cups water, use 1/4 cup water and 1 cup Southern Comfort. Otherwise, proceed as directed.
Honey Cream Cheese Frosting or Glaze
Yield: enough for about four standard cupcakes, but the recipe was designed to be modular; multiply as needed
- 3 Tbsp cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tsp honey
- 4 Tbsp powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp milk—for glaze only
- Beat cream cheese and honey until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar. For glaze, drizzle milk while beating, until desired consistency is reached.
- Apply to cakes as desired.