Creme de Menthe Cupcakes

One week. I am not sleeping well and I have stopped pretending otherwise. I wake up at three in the morning and lie in the dark and listen to the house and sometimes I get up and make tea and sit at the kitchen table in the dark. This is not insomnia exactly. It is anticipation that has become fully physical, a bodily state of readiness that does not know how to turn off at night. I am fine with this. I have slept enough in my life. I can spend a few nights in the kitchen at three a.m. with my tea.

Shanice texted Sunday to say she has been cooking obsessively, which CJ says has lasted all week — she has been making things and putting them up, nesting in the food way, which I told CJ is a sign that the baby is coming soon. He said, she made a full pot of oxtails Monday. I said, CJ, that baby is coming this week. He laughed like he wasn't sure I was serious. I was completely serious.

I made a batch of tea cakes Tuesday. Shanice's grandmother's recipe, from memory now, which means they are fully mine the way inherited recipes become fully yours after you've made them enough times that you no longer need the paper in front of you. I boxed half of them and drove to Huntsville Wednesday — not for a reason, just to bring tea cakes and sit with Shanice for two hours. We sat in her kitchen in the afternoon and I watched her move slowly around her own space, comfortable and large and close. She asked me if I was nervous. I said no. I said I was ready in the way the garden is ready in August — everything ripened to the exact right moment, waiting for the hand that knows when to pick. She said, that's a good way to put it. I said, I've had some time to think about it.

Tea cakes are what I made that Tuesday, and I’ll share that recipe another time — but the truth is, when I got home from Huntsville and the waiting settled back over the house, I wanted something a little more celebratory, something that felt like it was already dressed for a party. These Creme de Menthe Cupcakes are the batch I made Thursday night at midnight, standing in my kitchen in the dark, because my hands needed work and my heart needed to do something festive with itself. You make a dozen, you box them up, you are ready when the call comes.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour (including cooling) | Servings: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot strong-brewed coffee
For the Creme de Menthe Buttercream:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons creme de menthe liqueur
1 tablespoon heavy cream, plus more as needed
4–6 drops green food coloring (optional)
Pinch of salt
Chocolate shavings or thin mint candies, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the oven and pans. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper cupcake liners and set aside.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until fully combined and no lumps remain.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until smooth and slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract and whisk until well incorporated.
Combine and add coffee. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two additions, stirring gently with a spatula just until combined after each addition. Carefully stir in the hot coffee — the batter will be thin. Do not overmix.
Fill and bake. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared liners, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for 18–21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Rotate the pans halfway through baking.
Cool completely. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting — at least 30 minutes.
Make the buttercream. Beat the softened butter on medium-high speed with a hand or stand mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the creme de menthe, heavy cream, and salt. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes until light and spreadable. Add green food coloring if desired, a drop at a time, until you reach your preferred shade. If the frosting is too thick, add heavy cream 1 teaspoon at a time.
Frost and garnish. Using a piping bag fitted with a star tip (or a small offset spatula), frost the cooled cupcakes generously. Finish with chocolate shavings or a small mint candy on top if desired. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Creme de Menthe Cupcakes — The Batch You Make When Your Hands Need Something to Do