July 3, 2017

Bourbon Peach Sweet Tea Cupcakes

One of my favorite things to do is turn incredible cocktails into the most delicious desserts so when I was bringing cupcakes to a friend’s birthday I asked her to share with me her favorite cocktail, and from that these Bourbon Peach Sweet Tea cupcakes were born. These light, bright, mouthwatering cupcakes will be a hit at your next party or BBQ…or just for yourself – they’re that good!

INGREDIENTS

For the cupcakes you’ll need 6 egg whites, which I know is a lot. You can either use the whites from 6 eggs and save the yolks for many other delicious recipes, like maybe an Aperol Spritz Pie or Cold Brew Crème Brulee, or you can use a container of egg whites.

You’ll, of course, need bourbon as well, and the peach flavor comes from a can – both the juice from canned peaches as well as chopped canned peaches. I like using canned peaches for this recipe because they are often more flavorful than a fresh peach. The more subtle flavor of a fresh peach can get lost in the combination of strong flavors in this amazing treat. Plus, the cans have the juice, and are available year round!

The sweet tea part of the cupcake comes in the frosting but using sweet tea vodka, in addition to the bourbon and peach juice.

The pantry staples in this recipe are butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and powdered sugar.

three bourbon peach sweet tea cupcakes in front of a bottle of firefly sweet tea vodka and a bottle of four roses bourbon

HOW TO MAKE BOURBON PEACH SWEET TEA CUPCAKES

These cupcakes are a little bit more work than some of my other cupcake recipes, but I promise you it is well worth it. You start by whipping the egg white into a nice, stiff meringue, and set aside. Then, just like most any recipe, beat the butter and sugar together.

You’ll then put the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another. I usually just pour all the wet ingredients into the same measuring cup, so I’ll pour the bourbon up to the 1/2 cup mark, and then add the peach juice up to the 3/4 mark (so it adds 1/4 cup of peach juice). It saves a couple of dishes! You’ll then alternate adding the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture until both are fully incorporated.

Finally, you’ll stir in the chopped peaches, and finish up the batter by folding the egg white into the mixture. Start with about 1/3 of the egg white, and then add the rest. The egg white will help keep the cupcakes light, fluffy, and airy.

For the frosting, you’ll first beat the butter to get it soft and airy, and then mix in the rest of the ingredients. You can tweak the stiffness by adding more powdered sugar to thicken it or more sweet tea vodka to thin it.

Close up of a bourbon peach sweet tea cupcake with two cupcakes in the back partially blocked by the one up front, all in red, white, and pink wrappers on a marbled surface in front of a white background

HOW TO STORE AND SERVE BOURBON PEACH SWEET TEA CUPCAKES

If you’re making these in advance, I would suggest only making the cupcakes ahead of time and storing them in an airtight container. I would make the icing the day-of and frost the cupcakes same day. If you would prefer to frost the cupcakes ahead of time, they can be stored in the fridge for a couple days, and brought to room temperature (or slightly cooler) when serving. If making them more than a few days in advance, they can be stored in the freezer. Take them out 4-6 hours ahead of serving to allow them to defrost and come to or close to room temperature.

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