Recipe by Aimee
Ok, so there is nothing “light” about these cupcakes, but I just liked the name 
My go to alcoholic beverage of choice is an amaretto sour. A few years ago I discovered baking with amaretto and used to put it in my chocolate chip cookies all the time (I will get to those eventually). When Derek and I got married we had amaretto buttercream on the top layer of our wedding cake, and now that I make my own buttercream I have been looking forward to trying out the amaretto flavor. I have also recently discovered making cakes with almond extract, so I decided to combine the two similar flavors into a cupcake version and add some extra flair and flavor by adding a chocolate swirl on top. The almond flavor stands out enough to be recognizable, but I didn’t want it to be too overpowering. If you wanted stronger flavors you could add more almond extract, amaretto, or both. With the chocolate swirl I initially tried more of a zig-zag pattern, but that became too messy spilling over the sides. I found it was much easier to use a circular pattern and hold the chocolate syrup close to the cupcake. I still had some spillage but nothing I couldn’t wipe off with a paper towel. Enjoy!
Cupcakes:
- 1 box yellow cake mix (I use Duncan Hines)
- 1 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup oil
- 4 eggs (instead of the 3 listed on the back of the box)
- 1 Tbsp almond extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 full. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
Frosting (adapted from Wilton):
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 cup butter
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 4 Tbsp Amaretto
- Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup for topping
Cream together shortening and butter, then add in vanilla. Add powdered sugar in 1 cup increments, mixing well after each addition. Add in amaretto. Frost cupcakes and top with chocolate swirl if desired.
