My dad's birthday always falls around Father's day, which usually means... double the celebrations! Some of his most favorite beers are from the local Austin brewery, Infamous Brewing Company. I've had the honor of meeting the owner (Josh) and hanging out at the brewery a few times. They've won a LOT of medals for their selection of regular and seasonal beers. Their Pumpkin Massacre is a family favorite when it comes around in the fall.

Their brewery was literally right down the street from my parents when they lived over near the  lake. Now it's a bit of a trek for either of us, so unfortunately we don't get to go there much anymore. The good news is that they sell Infamous beer in almost any store here around Austin and most of Texas too. If you can't find Infamous near you though, you could always use another beer of your preference for these cupcakes.

What goes better with father's day or a manly birthday than beer and cupcakes? Except paper beer in your cupcakes. I've put champagne in cupcakes before, so I thought... why the heck not try beer this time around? Since Infamy beer has notes of blueberries and honey, I decide to go that route with merging the flavors. So, I added in plenty of honey to the cake batter and made a fresh homemade blueberry buttercream frosting to pair. Uh... can you say 'yum'?!

The cake part of these cupcakes turned out rich, dense and perfectly moist with the addition of the beer. I used my usual tricks for lightened up the batter by using some plain fat free greek yogurt and egg whites. Unfortunately, when it comes to buttercream frosting, there isn't much you can do to lighten it up outside of using less frosting.

I've found that light butter has a tendency to break down quickly in a buttercream. Yuck!

These cupcakes ended up being the perfect fit into the father's day and birthday shenanigans this weekend. They have just enough beer in them to get the flavor to come through while still keeping that that delicate honey and blueberry enough to please just about anyone. Beer lover or otherwise.

Like I've said, I used Infamous beer in these cupcakes. But if you can't find Infamous or have another beer preference, feel free to use your favorite!

Honey Beer Cupcakes with Fresh Blueberry Buttercream
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 24 • Size: 1 Cupcake • Calories: 238.8 • Fat: 9.1 g • Saturated Fat: 6 • Carb: 36.9 g • Fiber: 0.2 g • Protein: 2.2 g • Sugar: 28.1 g • Sodium: 267.9 mg

Ingredients:
Honey Beer Cake:
1 Box White/Yellow/Vanilla Cake Mix (Dry)
1 - 1 1/4 C. Beer (I used Infamous Brewing Co. Infamy)
6 Oz. Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt
2 Tbsp. 50/50 Honey
2 Egg Whites
1 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

Fresh Blueberry Buttercream:
1 1/2 C. Fresh Blueberries
2 Tbsp. Beer(I used Infamous Brewing Co. Infamy)
2 Sticks (8 Oz.) Unsalted Butter
1/2 Tsp. Salt
3 1/2 C. Powdered Sugar
1 Tbsp. Cold Heavy Whipping Cream

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and line a cupcake pan with 24 cupcake papers. Give them a quick spritz of non-stick baking spray and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, cook the 1 1/2 cups Fresh Blueberries and 2 Tbsp. Beer over a medium heat; stirring constantly and lightly mashing the berries. Cook down for about 10 minutes to create a deep dark blueberry reduction.

Sieve the blueberries through a mesh strainer to reserve the reduction and discard the blueberry pulp. Allow the reduction to cool completely. You may place it into the fridge to speed up this process.

While the blueberry reduction is cooling, beat together the 1 Box Cake Mix, 1  C. Beer, 6 Oz. Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt, 2 Tbsp. 50/50 Honey, 2 Egg Whites, and 1 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract.

You may add up to another 1/4 C. of beer if the mixture is too thick.

Divide the mixture evenly among the prepared cupcake pans.

Place the pans into the oven to bake for about 14-16 minutes or until the cake is cooked through with an inserted toothpick coming out clean.

Set aside and allow the cupcakes to cool enough to handle before transferring to a wire rack to continue to cool.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, beat together the 2 Sticks Unsalted Butter on a medium-high speed until smooth.

Add in 1/4 C. of the cooled blueberry reduction and 1/2 Tsp. Salt. Continue to beat together to combine fully.

Reduce the speed to low and add in the 3 1/2 C. of powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time until it's all incorporated. Finally, add in the 1 Tbsp. Cold Heavy Whipping Cream and beat on a high speed for about 2 minutes to get the frosting thickened, light, and fluffy.

Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes using a piping bag or a ziplock baggy with the corner cut off.

Drizzle with any remaining blueberry reduction and decorate as desired.

Enjoy!