Belgian White Beer Cupcakes

I know I'm a little late on this post.  Memorial Day BBQ's are prime places to debut such delicious treats as Belgian White Beer Cupcakes.  But that's OK.  Why don't we think of this post as a great treat that you can use to ease into the rest of summer.  

When your friends least expect it, you can show up at a BBQ, bearing gifts of the beer and cupcake kind.  You can say "Oh, these little things? I just felt like whipping these up for today.  No big deal."

You get the idea.

I had a lot of success a few years ago with my Blue Moon Cupcakes, so I decided to make a  variation of that.  I really wanted to make these with Sam Adams' Summer Ale, but alas, I couldn't find any in my local stores.  I opted to improvise instead of continuing the search, and I ended up using a Shocktop Belgian White Beer.  Delicious stuff!

So here's me raising my beer (cupcake) to you.  Enjoy!

Belgian White Beer Cupcakes
slightly adapted from Starting All Over Again
yields ~18 cupcakes

Print Recipe

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Big pinch of salt
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup lemon syrup (recipe below)
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Belgian White beer

1) Line cupcake pans with 18 cupcakes liners.

2) Whip the egg whites until they are light and fluffy.


3) Continue to whip the egg whites, adding the sugar gradually.


4) Add the oil, then add all other ingredients except the flour and beer.


5) Sift in 1 cup of the flour, then the beer, then the last cup of flour.

6) Mix the batter until all ingredients are fully combined.

7) Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way.

8) Bake at 350 degrees F for ~15 minutes.


9) Remove cupcakes from the oven and use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes.

10) In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon syrup and 1/4 cup beer.  Brush this mixture over the still-warm cupcakes.


Lemon Syrup

• 1 1/2 cup lemon juice
• zest of half a lemon
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

1) Add all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.


2) Let the mixture to boil until all the sugar is melted, then remove pan from heat.

3) Allow to cool.


Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
slightly adapted from Geekosystem
frosts ~24 cupcakes

• 12 oz cream cheese, cold
• 6 tbsp butter, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 4 cups powdered sugar

1) Cream together the cream cheese and butter using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.


2) Beat in the citrus juice and zest.

3) Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth and well-combined.


4)  Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

This cupcake came out a more like a pound cake in texture, as opposed to a fluffy white cake. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of pound cake, but the cake still had a nice wheat-y and lemon-y flavor that proved to be a tasty combination.  If you are a lover of pound cake and lemon, then this might be your kryptonite.

I know for a fact that this lemon cream cheese frosting is my kryptonite.  I know because after I frosted all my cupcakes, I stood at the kitchen counter and ate the frosting.  With a spoon.  For the next 10 minutes.  This debacle ended with me screaming at myself to throw the frosting away.  And even then, I'd scoop a spoonful into the trash can, and go on eating the frosting that was still left in the bowl.  Repeat.  I couldn't help it.  This wasn't one of those overly sweet frostings.  This frosting was smooth, creamy, tangy from the cream cheese and lemons, and slightly sweet from the sugar.  Paired with the cakes, this is a great summer dessert combination.