Maple Syrup, Bourbon and Candied Bacon Gluten Free Cupcakes - recipes

As much as I go on about cake, I'm not what you'd call a dyed in the wool cake lover. To be perfectly honest with you, I find cakes, especially cupcakes, a sickly sweet disappointment that I wished I had never ordered in the first place. I hate talking cake.

And I'm not one of those, standing in the kitchen every afternoon, rustling up some baked goodness to underline how much I'm fucking perfect wife material; there's more to life right now than conforming to some submissive female blogger stereotype.

Now I'm going to blow all of my postulating rhetoric clear of the cake mix and post a recipe for a) cake b) a cupcake WITH frosting (shudders) and c) a cupcake topped with the sweetest garnish available to humankind. I never claimed to be consistent.

These cakes are neither clever nor particularly original, I've located the currant zeitgeist and slapped it all on a cupcake - artists copy, geniuses steal and I'm so fucking genius that a day in my life hurts. That's why I make such great tasting food and why there's booze in most of the things I make.

Meat and booze on a cupcake - I rule

If you're a lady trying to stereotypically win the heart of a manly man and his bunch of nethanderal men friends, these cakes are for you. Likewise, they're pretty damn hipster, so you can take them over to your post-ironic loft parties and be all 'saaarrriousleee, you like so put meat on a cake, OMG that's so hot right now, let's all got to Famous and queue for hours like douches and Instagram dogs ironically on the way.' Or if you just want an excuse to pour booze in everything, like I do, then these are for you - and so are AA meetings; you/I have a problem

Some words of warning:
1. These cakes are not for vegetarians or kids. You'll have to omit the booze and bacon and there's really no point in that. Go get a recipe for vanilla cupcakes if you have bacon/booze beef.

2. I've taken out quite a bit of the sugar (see above for rant on sweet cakes), but you can add this back in if you have a sweet tooth/are angling to develop diabetes (try adding another 30 grams).

3. This is a gluten free recipe - but works just as well with regular self-raising flour.

4. I lied - I actually made these with Pine (Tar) Syrup from Finland - it's nowhere near as sweet as maple syrup, it has a smokey/piney finish that fits brilliantly with the bacon and the whiskey and I'm addicted to it. Substitute maple if you can't source it (or click here if you want to).

5. This is a bit of a long recipe, but it's well worth it and these will go down like THE BOMB wherever you take them. I can make you THAT COOL.

Maple/Tar Syrup, Bourbon and Candied Bacon Gluten Free Cupcakes

Ingredients

(Makes 16 small cupcakes or about 8 muffins)
125g butter at room temp, diced
100g caster sugar
2 eggs (free range please) (and at room temperature too)
3 tblsp Tar Syrup or Maple Syrup
1 tsp vanilla essence
Pinch of salt
175g Glutafin all purpose flour (you can use Dove's Farm SR gluten free flour or regular SR flour)
1 1/4 tsp gluten free baking powder (Dove's Farm does one) (or just a pinch of baking powder if using SR flour)
1 tblsp milk

For the frosting

90g unsalted butter
150g icing sugar
3 tblsp Woodford Reserve (or any other high quality bourbon)

For the garnish

2 tblsp soft light brown sugar
2 tblsp Woodford bourbon (or any other high quality bourbon)
6 rashers of smoked, streaky bacon (good quality, not that full of water shite)

Method

1. Set the oven to 190c/gas 5 and pop the cake cases in a cupcake tin.

2. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer till pale and fluffy.

3. Add the eggs one by one, adding a tblsp of the flour with each egg to help prevent curdling. Mix in well and then add in the syrup, vanilla and salt and give a quick whisk to combine.

4. Fold in the flour in two lots (it's easier and helps keep some air in there). If the mix is a little sticky (you want it a little wet, at dropping consistency) - add in the milk and mix again. Add more if needed.

5. Spoon the mix into the paper cases so they are about two-thirds full. I'm not going to be a pedant and make you level them all off, just max sure they are mostly level and not slopped all over or with way more mix on one side than the other.

6. Pop in the oven for 12-15 mins and take out when they are golden on top and a skewer inserted into the middle of a cake comes out clean. Take out of the tin and cool on a wire rack whilst you prep the frosting and bacon.

7. Whilst the cakes cool, fry up the bacon. I only have a small frying pan so fried two pieces at a time - DON'T overcrowd the pan, because then then bacon won't crisp up. Fry the bacon in batches till golden on each side, but NOT over-crisp. Put the bacon on a plate to cool and pour the bacon fat from the pan into a ramekin. The bacon should have cooled sufficiently for you to cut each piece into small strips - enough for each one of your cakes - do some maths/counting.

8. Wipe out the frying pan with a piece of kitchen paper, then add the light brown sugar and place on a medium heat. Add the bourbon and the bacon fat from the ramekin - but make sure you don't pour in any of the sediment from the ramekin. Don't stir the caramel and DON'T touch it as it's fucking boiling - just swirl the pan a few times to stop it sticking.

9. Once the caramel is bubbling, chuck in the bacon strips and bubble away in there until the caramel is really reduced and all the bacon is covered. Using tongs (not burnable fingers, we don't want a trip to A+E) take out the bacon and place on a greased plate (you can just use the plate that the bacon cooled on as that will be pretty greasy). If you want them to dry in a certain shape, bend them in to that now.

10. Whilst the bacon sets, bung all the frosting ingredients in a bowl and mix with the electric mixer. Add more icing sugar/bourbon as required. Load said frosting in to a piping bag (you can just put dollops on top with a spoon if you prefer) and pipe the frosting on to the cakes. Then top with the bacon, pour yourself a large measure (over ice) and congratulate yourself like all your fucking mates are going to when they see how clever you've been. No need to thank me, I drink so much that I'll have forgotten your name before you've even finished introducing yourself, let alone said thanks (however you CAN comment below for posterity).

NB - As I had said before, I enjoy booze in my food as it prolongs the haze in which life is bearable and other people almost acceptable. Because the booze isn't cooked off here, you want to use the best quality you can afford as you're going to taste it. I'm not going wax lyrical about Woodford as I've done that before - but seriously it's an amazing bourbon and it gives these cupcakes a caramel/vanilla/toffee/spicy touch that you don't get elsewhere.

Whiskey Tasting Night - The Violet Hour, West Didsbury

As many of my readership can attest, this is a lady who likes the odd tipple, and there's no tipple this lady likes more than Woodford bourbon (well, maybe some champers, but that's no surprise is it?).

So when good friend and the man with the BEST job in the world mentioned he would be conducting a Woodford/American whiskey tasting night at The Violet Hour in West Didsbury, how could I not pop along and show him my support by eagerly listening to his wisdom and tasting ALL the drinks he made. What a great friend I am hey?

The Violet Hour - wonderful photography from Carl Sukonik/The Vain Photography

Premise of the night was very simple, Tom Vernon, the American Whiskey Ambassador for Bacardi Brown Foreman would introduce three of his brands; Gentleman Jack, Woodford and Jack Single Barrel by giving us a (large) measure of each to taste/savour/down. Then we'd get a classic cocktail made from each (and be shown how to make them too - now I'm going to look like a PRO at Christmas) and plenty of history, anecdotes and tasting notes along the way.

Not all these drinks were mine... (are you sure? - ed)

We were first introduced to Gentleman Jack, a Tennessee whiskey, NOT a bourbon; this is Jack Daniels given the posh treatment - gently mellowed in charred oak barrels for two years then re-mellowed through a unique charcoal filtering process (did you know the Jack Daniels distillery is the ONLY distiller with their own cooper - ie. they make ALL their own barrels? (See I was listening/not getting too pissed. Really. Promise.). Indeed it was pretty smooth, with that oakiness as a slight warm burn on the back of the throat and a good mouthful of stone fruits as well.

Gentleman Jack was given the whiskey sour treatment - very simply just whiskey (obviously), mixed with sugars, bitters, the sharp bite of lemon and some egg white to give you a nice creamy mouth feel (oi! I'm talking about booze you rude people!). See the bottom of the blog post to make your own whiskey sour.

Tom doing his thang - again thanks to the amazing Carl Sukonik/The Vain Photography

Next drink was my favourite EVER - a Woodford. Even without Tom's spiel I can tell you that this bourbon is a far more punchy and layered little number as it contains much more rye than the Gentleman Jack (18% compared to Gentleman's 8% - ok, I didn't know the percentages until I got Tom's informative chat). Woodford is full of toffee and maple notes (that's why it makes such a good caramel for morning pancakes!) with some peppery, anise flavours to really perk it up at the end. Even though it's more punchy, it has less of an aggressive nose/throat than the Gentleman Jack due to the aging processes it goes through.

The Woodford was turned in to one of my top ten favourite cocktails; the quintessential prohibition drink that's gone through a massive resurgence lately, the stately and sophisticated (and darn right boozey) Manhattan. The story goes it was created at the Manhattan club for Winston Churchill's mother - how it was when she was pregnant and in France, no one knows, it's been lost in the mists of time...

Woodford Manhattan and terrible photo

The last whiskey of the night was the Jack Single Barrel - that's the super posh stuff that Jack Daniel's makes. As it says on the tin (ok bottle), this is a single barrel bottling; each batch is created from ONE single barrel (approx 250 bottles). This whiskey has oodles of flavour and a much higher abv (45%!) thanks to it being stored in the Angel's Roost - the top of the warehouse where the temperature differences are more pronounced, thus meaning the whiskey has had more interaction with the wood; the whiskey sucking in and absorbing all those charred oaky tannins and being softened by its interaction with the wood.

Each batch of Jack Single Barrel differs from the each other depending on what time of year it was made, where it has been stored in the warehouse and what the weather has been like whilst it's been in the barrel (yes, even little nuances like that make a whole lot of difference); each batch will have different tasting notes, different characteristics and different complexities - this batch was silky soft and mellow with burnt toffee and charcoal notes coming through on the finish. A smooth, complex and extremely exquisite drink, poo poohing those toffee noses who look down on American Whiskey as a second rate drink - and this little tipple nearly, ever so nearly knocked Woodford down from its lofty perch in my esteem (don't tell Woodford though...).

For the Single Barrel a very special, simple drink (that actually takes a little time and quite a bit of care to make properly) that can actually claim to be one of my very favourites and one of the very first cocktails ever created in them good ol' days; an Old Fashioned (yeah that one in Madmen. No I haven't watched Madmen. Yes I know I'm probably missing out. Thanks.) - whiskey, sugar syrup, bitters and a little twist of orange. Tom's version = perfection.

Thanks to Dan (left) and Tom for a wonderful, fun evening

The Violet Hour is a perfect little hideaway that has recently opened on Burton Road in West Didsbury - whilst I lived there (yonks ago whilst at Uni - not telling you how long that was), it had always been a derelict butcher shop, a broken down blot on the blossoming Burton Road scene. Thankfully owner/manager Dan had a vision to create a bustling little bar with a great selection of quality drinks and (soon to come) warming stews and creative nibbles (think home made pork scratching and gourmet popcorn, yum) - the pared back brick work and warm lighting creating a friendly, welcoming space - if you like a proper drink, this is the place to go.

So how much did supporting my friend (er don't you mean filling your boots with a ton of booze? - ed) cost? Pretty reasonable actually - for three (large) tasting measures, three exceptionally created cocktails (Tom is pretty skillful in that area) and more canapes than I could actually eat, I only had to shell out £15. I think it was more than worth it and will be booking myself and anyone who will come with me (and who wouldn't? Booze and food and ME hey?) on to the next spirit night The Violet Hour hosts (apparently there will be lots - check their Twitter and Facebook for more info/before they all sell out!).

All eagerly listening to Tom in the lovely surroundings of The Violet Hour -

again from Carl Sukonik/The Vain Photography (who has a brilliant eye, check him out!)

The Violet Hour, 236 Burton Road, West Didsbury, Manchester M20 - Facebook - Twitter - 0161 434 9521

Ps Thanks to Carl Sukonik of The Vain Photography for letting me use his beautifully shot photos and for sparing you any more of my out of focus/blurry attempts. Check out his website and twitter for more info about how you can book this highly talented/lovely chap.


How to make a Whiskey Sour like Tom Vernon aka the jammiest man in the world

60ml Gentleman Jack
2 tsp sugar
20ml fresh lemon (and no, it is NOT acceptable to use the stuff in a bottle. EVER.)
Bitters to taste (get creative, there's a wide variety of bitters out there)
Egg white from one egg (save the yolk for your hangover cure the next morning...)
Cocktail shaker
Lowball glass with ice cubes in
Cheeky grin - optional

1. Pop all the ingredients bar the bitters in a cocktail shaker and shake about a bit dry ie. NOT with ice (don't just shake the shaker with nothing in, that's not how you make a cocktail).

2. Whilst shaking, regale people with anecdotes/facts about whiskey you have learnt from this blog - or in Tom's version, with amazing tales from having the best job in the world where you just get to talk a lot about whiskey, drink a lot of whiskey and fly out to America every three minutes (not that I'm jealous or anything).

3. Pour in to a low ball/old fashioned glass (the little short, squat ones) over ice and shake some bitters in over the top - you can prep the glasses by sugaring the rims if you want to be ultra professional.

4. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel and serve with a winning smile. Lapping up praise - optional.

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Whiskey Trail - The Liquorists, Manchester Northern Quarter

Mark Twain is famed for saying, "...too much of good whiskey is barely enough," and last week's Whiskey Tour, with bar consultants/boozy tour guides/general bon vivants The Liquorists, really lived up to Mark Twain's (and my) expectations - there was whiskey galore; plus plenty of good food and good chat thrown in for very good measure.

The concept of a Whiskey Trail is to sample some very good whiskey (note the 'e' you pedants, we're referring to non-Scotch here), taste it in a long drink and learn about the spirit - bit like non-geeky school trip for adults.

We started the night at Socio-Rehab; the old stomping ground of our guide Tom, who's one half of The Liquorists partnership. Gathered round in a booth with eight other strangers, I felt like a bit of a ninny, however Tom's warmth and boundless enthusiasm relaxed everyone immediately and we got off to a flying start with the American bourbon that is Woodford Reserve; sweet, salty caramel flavours with big hints of vanilla shining through. To highlight the versatility of the drink we were also served a Classic, apparently as drunk by those people on Mad Men all the time (how did they cope?), and a dark chocolate florentine. Perfect.

Classics and florentines at SocioRehab

From here we decamped to Trof NQ and their brand new bourbon bar - we scampered round our reserved table like excited primary-schoolers - our little faces all tuned in to Tom's captivating spiel about the Jim Beam and infamous mint julep in front of us - part history, part folklore, part innuendo, part tasting notes. To compliment we had a spoon of jelly and almonds, went down a treat I can tell you.

Mint julep - totally Hunter S Thompson

We formed a now less than orderly crocodile and popped in to the dark and moody Apotheca a few doors up; this time to the wonderful sight of two large drams, not just one! And we can say drams this time as one of them was the wonderful Auchentoshan - a smooth and delicate Scotch single malt; the only triple distilled malt in Scotland - see I was still listening, even if by this time I had a lovely warm feeling and things were getting a little hazy. This was contrasted against the fruity, slightly sweeter Yamazaki from Japan, which was one of my favourites from the trail.

By now we were all chatting amiably, no longer strangers, but partners on this unique guided discovery - good thing as we had the longest walk (all of two minutes) to Noho on Stevenson Square - to relax in some comfy sofas; just what we needed after four drams and three cocktails. Out came a Jameson, well we couldn't have trail without having a drink from the country that invented whiskey could we? Hmmm...they may have invented it, but I do think the Scots refined it (that's a debate for another post). Here we ate caramel and cheese popcorn, sounds gross but is surprisingly moreish.

This made the Jameson's taste nice! Basil, clove syrup and pepper cocktail at Noho

And for our last treat? A chow down at the Northern Quarter's now infamous secret meat den for plenty of alcohol absorbing, juicy, meaty, delicious (I could go on) burgers and addictive chicken wings - plus lots of Jack Daniels and cocktails that I think included root beer and cherries (yes 'I think,' I had to go by the photos I took and my twitter updates for this one). Good job Almost Famous had opened up especially for us as by this time we were all on the merry side.

End of the night, dirty beefy love mmmm.....

A tour through the whiskies of the world is something that may sound a little dry (no pun intended); obsessive booze geeks trailing around in chinos discussing tasting notes and cask weights, blah, bah, blah. Tom is obsessive, but in a very good way. His passion, interest and obvious knowledge shine through - coupled with an boundless friendliness and a true eagerness to actually know what you think about each drink, he makes the trail a very enjoyable and unforgettable experience.

Please don't fear that this is an overly boozy lads night out - it's not. The Liquorists have obviously gone to great pains to ensure the whole set-up is run as professional and smoothly as possible. Our tables were always reserved, the drinks were always ready and there were plenty of snacks and water to dilute the booze they were feeding us. For between £30-£40 it's a cheap night out, especially as we got through five whiskies, four cocktails and more food than I could fit in my gob (that's a lot, by the way).

Tom and his interesting spiel

The Whiskey Trail is on for the next five weeks so snap up your tickets here - you'll be gutted if you miss out, it really is that ace. Don't fear if it's already booked up; those sauce sessionistas will be back with a gin trail, and a vodka trail, and... well watch this space.

Want a bespoke party (they indeed will do these for 'a good deal'), or got some questions for Tom or his business partner Jody? Then head over to: http://www.theliquorists.com/ tom@theliquoristsonline.com or Twitter

Ps I was given the ticket to this trail for free, however I was under no obligation to write good things - Tom's enthusiasm for the drinks, his interest in us and just how jolly nice he was, plus the actual fabness of the trail means I think this definitely deserves a thumbs up.