Though the first mentions of cocktails and cupcakes can both be traced to the dawn of the 19th century, it’s hard to say when they first crossed paths in baked form. Fortunately, contemporary bakers regularly draw inspiration (and flavor) from adult beverages.
Whether you’re single and going out with friends, or getting ready for an epic date night, there’s no better time than Valentine’s day for a boozy cupcake. From simple single-liquor infusions to spins on classic cocktails like the old-fashioned and the Negroni, here are eight cocktail-inspired cupcakes perfect for any direction the holiday might take you.
Zoelle Egner is a San Francisco-based writer with a weakness for baking and mixed beverages. She spends far too much time on Twitter.
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For those who prefer to celebrate Valentine's with more traditional cocktails, there are cupcakes to match. The Bump City Bakery old-fashioned cupcake interprets the venerable cocktail as orange spice cake soaked in Bulleit bourbon with brown sugar frosting, candied orange, and of course, an amarena cherry on top.
Credit E&B Photos, courtesy of Bump City Bakery
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Some of the most popular boozy cupcakes lift the flavors of a single spirit, as in this vegan cupcake from Bump City Bakery, which tops vanilla cake soaked with limoncello with Meyer lemon frosting.
Photo by Zoelle Egner
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Other baked goods use a kick of booze to bring a panoply of tastes together, as in Sift Dessert Bar's "Battle Royale" cupcake, which brings an almond cake with acai berry cream cheese frosting to life with a blueberry tequila filling.
Photo by Zoelle Egner
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The coconut rum cupcake at Hapa Cupcakes adds a seasonal, Valentine's Day twist on the beachy liquor.
Photo courtesy of Hapa Cupcakes
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Fullerton's Hapa Bakery has another take on the traditional berries and booze approach to a Valentine's cupcake, combining the stalwart chocolate-covered strawberries with champagne.
Photo courtesy of Hapa Cupcakes
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For those that prefer a kick in their celebratory treats, the vegan Mochatini cupcake at Bump City Bakery in Petaluma, Calif. channels its eponymous martini variation with vodka-infused chocolate cake, Kahlua buttercream and a chocolate-covered espresso bean.
Photo by Zoelle Egner
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Raspberries and champagne are a simple but popular combination for Valentine's Day. San Francisco's Sift Bakery Bar won the "Judge's Favorite" in Food Network's Cupcake Wars with their interpretation of the classic.
Photo by Zoelle Egner
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Even the venerable Negroni, a balanced mix of gin, vermouth and Campari, gets its turn as a cupcake with Bump City Bakery's vegan No. 209 gin-soaked orange pound cake, Campari buttercream and an orange twist.
Credit E&B Photos, courtesy of Bump City Bakery