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These Moscow Mule Cupcakes are so fun – just like the cocktail! A moist ginger cupcake is topped with a ginger-lime frosting and I love them so much!
So lately I have become obsessed with Moscow Mules. I never ever thought I’d be into them because of the ginger beer. First of all, I don’t like beer. Like, at all. Unless it’s in cheese (like this Bacon Cheddar Beer Cheese Dip). In a drink? Not so much. Also – ginger. I mean I like it, but it seemed like a lot to drink it.
I was SO WRONG! “Beer” is kind of a horrible name for ginger beer. It’s totally not beer. It’s not even alcoholic. And it’s SO GOOD! Sorry for all the caps, but I’m seriously in love. I have tasted both brands of ginger beer that are easily available at our store and I’m all about the most ginger-y ginger beer I can find. The one with the biggest ginger bite is my jam – Fever Tree.
I’m also more of a rum or tequila girl than vodka, but it doesn’t bother me at all in the Moscow Mules. They are seriously my new go-to drink. The hubs is shocked that I’m so into them and that I’ve changed my drink of choice – and it’s not super sweet. Normally I order just about the sweetest drink I can find. 🙂 No more! So naturally I had to turn it into a sweet treat. 🙂
I went through so many versions of these cupcakes. I don’t even remember how many, but it was a lot. Then I was totally sure I had it and was done and then frosting ended up being too lime-y and I had to go another round. Now these babies are just right!
A big challenge was getting enough ginger flavor in the cupcake. As I said, I dig the ginger flavor of a moscow mule so it needed to not get lost. Ginger beer alone seemed to do a decent job at first, but once I added frosting I decided to up the ante and add some more ginger to the cupcake. I didn’t want it to get lost and it was a good call.
I tested several ginger beers with the cupcakes and they all baked fine. As I said, I think the most ginger-y beer is the best, but if you have a fave, you can go with it. I even tried diet and it was fine.
I added a touch of vodka to the cupcake because that felt authentic to a cocktail cupcake. 🙂 However if you wanted to have a non-alcoholic cupcake, you can totally swap it out for water. You don’t really taste the vodka, so it’s cool either way.
The frosting is also focused on the ginger. It may seem like ginger overload but it really isn’t. Moscow mules are all about the ginger. In an earlier version, I added lime juice and lime zest to the frosting. The lime ended up taking over the entire cupcake and the ginger got lost. The final version of the frosting has a bit more ginger and only uses lime zest. It give just enough lime flavor without being overpowering.
If you couldn’t already tell, I love these cupcakes! The are super moist, so tasty and SO fun! If you’re looking for a fun way to incorporate a great cocktail into a cupcake, this is it!
Watch How To Make Them
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Moscow Mule Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 17 minutes
- Total Time: 47 minutes
- Yield: 12-15 Cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Moscow Mule Cupcakes are so fun – just like the cocktail! A moist ginger cupcake is topped with a ginger-lime frosting and I love them so much!
Ingredients
CUPCAKES
- 6 tbsp (84g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cups (155g) sugar
- 6 tbsp (86g) sour cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 egg whites, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (163g) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/4 tsp ground ginger (1 1/4 tsp)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp (90ml) ginger beer
- 2 tbsp (30ml) vodka
FROSTING
- 3/4 cup (168g) butter
- 3/4 cup (142g) shortening
- 6 cups (690g) powdered sugar
- 4 tsp ground ginger
- 3–4 tbsp (45-60ml) ginger beer
- 1 tsp lime zest
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Do not skimp on the amount of creaming time.
3. Add sour cream and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
4. Add egg whites in two batches, mixing until well combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then combine the ginger beer and vodka in a small measuring cup.
6. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until well combined. Add the ginger beer mixture and mix until well combined. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
7. Fill the cupcake liners about halfway. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.
8. Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to finish cooling.
9. To make the frosting, combine the butter and shortening with a mixer until smooth.
10. Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth and well combined.
11. Add the ginger and mix until combined.
12. Add 3 tablespoons of ginger beer to the frosting and mix until well combined.
13. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
14. Add the lime zest and mix until smooth. Add additional ginger beer as needed to get the right consistency.
15. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. I used Ateco tip 808.
Notes
I use more frosting with the round tip swirl than you may need if you use a different frosting tip. You could cut down on the amount of frosting if you are piping the frosting differently.
The vodka can be substituted with water if you’d like a non-alcoholic cupcake.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
- Calories: 424
- Sugar: 50.1 g
- Sodium: 145.3 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Carbohydrates: 59.7 g
- Protein: 2.1 g
- Cholesterol: 13.9 mg
Enjoy!
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I followed your recipe to a T and they turned out almost more like bread than cake 🙁 and the frosting wasn’t light and fluffy like yours… what did I do wrong?!
It’s hard to say for sure from a distance. I’d make sure your ingredients were all still good, like the baking powder. Also be sure you fully creamed the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes and that you didn’t over mix after adding the flour, which can over develop the gluten and make the cupcakes dense and tough. If you still feel like they aren’t as light as you’d like, you can actually whip the egg whites separately and fold them in at the end. The cupcakes turn out great that way too and are a touch lighter.
These were absolutely delicious. Due to the ginger, these cupcakes were not sweet but very balanced and so yummy!! The cake itself was moist but I did not taste the vodka. Make sure to eat the cupcake with the lime and mint garnish…enhances the flavor as if you are drinking a Moscow mule. I will be making it again!
So glad you enjoyed them!
I made this recipe again this week and realized the weight measurement of the Ginger Beer and Vodka in the cupcake is off. I measured 6tbsp of ginger beer and it came out to 60ml and 2tbsp of vodka and it came out to 20 ml.
So liquid is measured in volume, not weight. The standard measurement is 1 tbsp = 15 ml. They are listed correctly, but feel free to measure in whatever way works best for you. If the tablespoon method doesn’t seem right, feel free to measure by milliliters.