Friday morning, before my most elegant tumble - my day literally started out as great as any day could! Seriously, what could be better than decorating cupcakes and mixing cocktails on a Friday morning with two of your best friends? I know!! It just doesn't get better than that! The tall, beautiful blonde (Jules) is another amazing Aussie in my life! Cool fun fact about Jules: she is the visionary behind the beautiful interior design of each Blue Stone Cafe in NYC (check out her Q&A with Williams Sonoma!). The petite beauty you have seen in a couple of my pictures is Miss Liz Ryan. One of the sweetest humans on the planet and honestly one of the reasons I started Denver Darling. She would come over and borrow clothes and I would end up dressing her up very much like myself.
With the arrival of fall I thought it would only be appropriate to gather my friends and do some mixology and baking with the fruit of the month! I love apples and really do eat one (almost) daily. I wanted to go apple picking, but it isn't available in our lovely state this season due to an early freeze last spring. Anyway, I'd say this was more fun and would highly suggest doing a baking or mixology course with your girlfriends.
I teamed up with IZZE and Yours Truly Cupcake to come up with some tasty fall inspired drinks and treats. The IZZE Caramel Apple Cocktail we concocted is delicious and so easy! It is perfect for any fun event you are hosting this season - the flavors and presentation are perfect for a fall inspired party or a Friendsgiving feast! At Yours Truly Cupcake, they specialize in cupcake pairings and infused cupcakes... so it only made sense to infuse their standard frosting recipe with a little IZZE as well. The pairing was absolute perfection!
Izze Caramel Apple Cocktail
- Drizzle caramel sauce along inside of glass
- 1 large scoop of ice in shaker
- 1 shot Vodka
- 1 shot St. Germain
- Shake together and strain into glass
- 1/4 cup Champagne or Prosecco
- 1/4 cup IZZE Sparkling Apple
- Fresh apple slice for garnish
- Edible glitter optional (kind of ;) )
Cinnamon Apple Cupcakes w/ IZZE Sparkling Apple
Apple Cake
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 5 oz applesauce
- 1 oz Izze Sparkling Apple Reduction (8oz Izze Sparkling Apple heat in saucepan on low for 20-30 minutes)
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and Izze reduction. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with applesauce.Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350ยฐ for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Frost cooled cupcakes. Yield: 1 dozen
Cinnamon Apple Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 4-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 5 to 6 tablespoons Izze Apple reduction
In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Beat in the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Yield: About 3 cups
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