Honey Roasted Grapefruit Wheat Ale and Meyer Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are so good you won’t want to share
My Honey Roasted Ruby Red Grapefruit Wheat Ale didn’t win the competition, so I consoled myself by using it to make cupcakes.
I mentioned this before, but didn’t really elaborate. I brewed this beer for a competition called Beer and Branding. It was a really cool event where home brewers were matched up with a marketing team. The brewers created a recipe and brewed the beer while the marketing team designed a brand and label to go with it. All the beer had to use a secret ingredient chosen by NoDa Brewing Company’s head brewer.
You guessed it – the secret ingredient was grapefruit. I decided to cut them in half, cover them in honey, and roast them. It was called Groovy Red Ruby and I think it was the best beer I ever brewed. You can even see a little bit of pink from the red grapefruit in the head.
The label was really cool too! My team did an awesome job and created a graphic of my white boxer, Holly, riding a wave on a surfboard. I wish I had a copy to share, but sadly, I don’t.
It didn’t win the competition, but it is an amazing beer that I’m still enjoying and will absolutely brew again. And I might just keep it all for myself. 🙂
Honey Roasted Grapefruit Wheat Ale and Meyer Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks butter room temperature
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/2 cup beer
For the Frosting
- 16 ounces cream cheese
- 2 stick butter room temperature
- 4 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 tablespoon meyer lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon meyer lemon zest
- 6 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Cupcakes
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Preheat oven to 325
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Line 2 cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners
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Whisk or sift together flour, salt, and baking powder
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Add butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium high until light and fluffy
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Add eggs one at a time making sure each one is incorporated before adding the next and scraping down the sides
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Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat until incorporated
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Add milk and beat until incorporated
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Add another 1/3 of flour mixture and beat until incorporated
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Add the beer, juice, and zest and beat until incorporated
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Add the remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat until incorporated
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Transfer to prepared muffin tins filling about 3/4 of the way to the top
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Bake 25 - 27 minutes or until golden brown on top and done in the center, rotate pans halfway through baking
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Cool on wire racks
For the Frosting
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Combine butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium high until smooth
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Add vanilla, juice, and zest and beat until combined
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Reduce speed to medium lo and add powdered sugar one cup at a time until combined and smooth
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Transfer frosting to a pastry bag fitted with whatever tip you like and pipe onto cooled cupcakes
NOTES:
- Obviously you do not have this Honey Roasted Grapefruit Wheat Ale beer, but you can use a grapefruit ale or a wheat ale and substitute some of the lemon zest with grapefruit zest
- If you aren’t a cream cheese frosting freak like me, you can use half of the frosting recipe for a lighter frosted cupcake or substitute a butter cream if that blows your dress up
- I thought there was a gallery of the branding photos somewhere on Facebook, but I haven’t found them yet. If I do, I’ll update this post and include a link.
Oh my, now that is a great recipe for the million lemons I have in my backyard right now. Nice work with Beer and Branding competition – sounds fun. Love that you are brewing your own beer and shoot those lemony cream cheese frosted cupcakes look delicious.
Girl, that beer sounds amaze balls! Too bad that you didn’t win, but no matter because you ended up making these delicious cupcakes. I’m sure if I were judging I would pick yours as #1 🙂 I love grapefruit, especially IN stuff. Your piping skills on these little cuties are soooo much better than mine. P.S. Cream cheese frosting totally blows my skirt up 😉
What a fun experience, Rachelle! I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t win…but that’s really awesome that NoDa hosted such a cool event with home brewers. #MuchRespect If I had been a judge, you would have won. No question. But I love that you turned that beer into cupcakes. These sound delicious, and I’d be happy to sample them if you need a second opinion. Also, I enjoy buttercream more than cream cheese frosting…but neither blows my dress up. Just sayin’.
You won the competition in my head, Rach!!!! I mean, your beer was AMAZING. The flavor, the label, the brewer – ALL AMAZING. That competition must have been rigged. 😉 Love that you turned the beer into CUPCAKES!!! How freggin’ genius is that?! These look absolutely delicious, girlfriend… and rather dangerous, because no way in hell am I just eating one of these beauties! I meyer lemon mixed with a honey grapefruit wheat ale?! DROOLING! Pinned of course! Cheers, lovely! xo
I think you should have won. That ale sounds flipping amazing and so unique. Mmm, grapefruit! What a creative idea.
These cupcakes look like pure bliss in every bite. Yum!
Bummer you didn’t win Rachelle, but boy it sounds delicious! Glad you used it to make some cupcakes. I bet they were fabulous too!
What a great opportunity! You’ll get ’em next time! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cupcake made with beer! You are a definite winner in the creative use of beer category!
Boooooo to those people who didn’t give you the big blue ribbon!!! I’m sure your grapefruit wheat ale was the best and I would have voted you to win. Do you need me to do some you-know-what punching? Cause I will girl! lol! Nice comeback thou on these cupcakes because they look delish! I love meyer lemon anything, but especially when it’s in a mini cake form with frosting on top 😉
You’ll win next time!!! These look gorgeous! Pinned!
What a fantastic experience you had, Rachelle. Cupcake with beer sounds like the best treat ever. What a unique and creative use of beer! I wish you win the next time. 🙂
Oh never mind, you will win next time! 🙂 but it sounds like a great experience! The cupcakes look lovely!
Makes the win you’ll undoubtedly get even sweeter! Loving these cupcakes, Rachelle!
That beer sounds SO good, and these cupcakes sound like such a delicious way to use it!! Meyer lemon makes the perfect complement, too.
What a fun experience this sounds like even if you didn’t win. Plus you got to make yummy cupcakes. Awesome job!
I love the name of your beer (and the honey-roasted technique) even if you didn’t win. It’s disappointing. At the same time, it sounds like an awesome experience that you can turn into something personal and new–just like these beautiful cupcakes. Good luck for next time!
I want your beer! I need to try that. I bet I would think you should have won!
Holy hell this sounds amazing. But I might need your beer to make it truly amazing! Send some my way!
Honey roasted grapefruit sounds awesome!
These looks pretty! And the honey roasted grapefruit flavor sounds good!
amazing idea. Honey roasted grapefruit. Am a passionate baker and this recipe is surely inviting me to bake. Trying these soon.