Mini Grapefruit IPA Cupcakes

Photos by Natalie Whearley

Grapefruit IPA Cupcake filled with Grapefruit Curd and topped with Whipped Honey Frosting
Recipe adapted from Deschutes and Martha Stewart

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area,  you may know that right now is one of the most wonderful times of the year.  That's right it is SF Beer Week.  There are all kinds of events spread across the entire bay area.  So, no matter where you live or what time of beer you prefer, you can probably find an amazing event near by.  These are the events where the brewer's bring out their most special and rare beers and is a great time to broaden your horizons. 

I could probably go on and on about all the different beers I have had and how amazing they all are, byt I will get down to the inspiration for these delightful cupcakes.  A few years back during beer week I attended a Ballast Point event at Harry's Hofbrau in Redwood City.  I'm not normally the biggest fan of IPAs but they had two IPAs that really caught my eye.  One was the Habanero Sculpin and the other was the Grapefruit Sculpin.  Both were delicious in their own way.  I think these beers weren't so available as they are now, so getting a chance to try them was pretty special.  The grapefruit one was so refreshing and it definitely stayed in my mind.  

With beer week being upon us, I really wanted to do a beer cupcake.  And I have messed around quite a few times with stouts and chocolate, but I wanted to do something different.  Fortunately with beer week coinciding perfectly with my best friend (and IPA enthusiast), Lauren's, birthday, I thought an IPA cupcake would be awesome.  I talked to her a little bit about what citrus she thought would go best and she agreed IPA and grapefruit sounded good.  I was secretly super excited because I had been dying to make grapefruit curd. Then I remembered, you can get bottles of the Grapefruit Sculpin at Whole Foods so that was perfect.

I ended up with a delicious cupcake made with the grapefruit IPA and some grapefruit zest, filled it with slightly sweet grapefruit curd, and topped it with my honey whipped cream cheese frosting for a bit of extra sweetness.  I can't wait to share these with my friend for her special day!  

[ INGREDIENTS ]
makes approximately 50 mini cupcakes

Grapefruit Curd
1 cup fresh grapefruit juice (I used about 2 Ruby Red grapefruits)
3 tablespoons fresh grapefruit zest
3 large eggs, plus 3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
A pinch of salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and softened

Grapefruit IPA Cupcakes
3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
3 eggs at room temperature
1 tsp grapefruit zest
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (you can substitute with vanilla extract)
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup whole milk
1 cup grapefruit IPA (I used Ballast Point's Grapefruit Sculpin), plus more for brushing

Whipped Honey Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons raw honey
2 cups heavy whipping cream, very cold


[ DIRECTIONS ]

Grapefruit Curd

1. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the grapefruit juice to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer until the juice is reduced by half (approx. 5 min).  Let cool.
3. In the top of a double broiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water), whisk together the reduced grapefruit juice, grapefruit zest, eggs, egg yolks, sugar,  and salt.
4. Cook, whisking constantly until the curd thickens (approx. 6-7 minutes).
5. Remove from heat and whisk in the softened butter a few bits at a time.
6. Pour mixture through a fine sieve to remove any lumps.
7. Cover with plastic wrap (touching the surface of the curd to avoid creating a skin) and refrigerate until cold and set.

Grapefruit IPA Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Line two mini muffin pans with paper liners.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, one at time, beating well after each addition.
5. Beat in the vanilla extract and grapefruit zest.
6. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
7. In a separate small bowl, mix together the milk and the grapefruit IPA.
8. Add the IPA and flour mixtures to the butter mixture, alternating, starting and ending with the flour, mixing well after each addition.
9. Spoon the batter into the lined mini muffin trays, filling about 2/3 full,
10. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
11. While still hot, prick the cupcakes with a fork and brush with the grapefruit IPA.  Cool completely.

Whipped Honey Frosting

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and honey on medium speed until smooth.
2. Slowly add the heavy whipping cream and gradually increase the speed to high.
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and whip until stiff peaks form.

Put it all together

1. After the cupcakes have cooled, use a small knife or spoon to remove the center of each cupcake.
2. Using a pastry bag, fill each hole with the grapefruit curd.
3. Using a pastry bag, pipe on the whipped honey frosting.
4. Top with grapefruit zest.
5. Cheers to SF Beer Week!