
I don’t want to babble (I’ll do that in a separate post soon or later) so straigtht up to the recipe this time…

I don’t want to babble (I’ll do that in a separate post soon or later) so straigtht up to the recipe this time…

While on my last trip to Dublin in December a new cool bar opened where I live: The Maltbar offers a large variety of Single Malts as well as Craft Beers, alongside with some fancy cocktails including those (and other) ingredients. The one cocktail that caught my attention was the Caibeerinha and I had to try it, because it sounds like a really weird combination. It’s actually a nice combination of a rather hoppy IPA with a fresh and tangy finish. After sitting in the bar and brainstorming on new recipes for the blog, this idea of a craft beer flavoured cupcake got stuck in my head. So if you’re tired of making the same old Guinness Chocolate Cake over and over again, why not try these little bad ass craft beer cocktail cupcakes for a change? I used Braukunstkeller’s Amarsi IPA, as it is used at Maltbar and with it’s strong hoppy flavour & the bitter citrus aroma it perfectly goes together with lime and brown sugar. If you can’t get hands on this one, go for an IPA that also uses Amarillo and Simcoe hop for the strong flavours. I remember the 8 Degrees Brewing’s Howling Gale Ale to be quite similar but less bitter, so if you want to mild the hoppy bitterness I would give this one a shot.


My health really gave me a hard time in this past year 2013. Also I’ve done my best to ignore it, my body refuses and partly gives up on me from time to time. This week it was my stomach who refused to let me eat painfree. Luckily there is a pill for everything but sometimes they come with unwanted side effects. Yesterday was Nap-day, I think I had as many naps as a bunny has per day, 17 to be exact. Last nigth and today was rather problematic cause as a side effect of my meds all my muscles decided to hurt like crazy today. I felt like after a constant 2 day workout with a burn in my muscles that just won’t stop. I needed distraction and found it in a note that today was national cookie day in whatever country (I guess it’s America). 
I wanted to try out some of her recipes but hadn’t had the time yet. Now that I tasted thos really gorgeous cookies, I WANT MORE. The recipe is very easy and fast to do, you don’t even need a electric mixer (which my sister will appreciate). I used some Cadbury caramel chocolate that I brought from my last trip to Ireland for the center of the cookies and that worked very well. I made 15 cookies out of the recipe, not all containing caramel chocolates. if you place the salt just on the center of the cookies, above the Nutella, it makes a fantastic taste experience.
I truly love caramel. And I am into British and Irish treats. So this recipe is the perfect combination and to die for!
Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F and line a 23cm/9inch square cake tin with parchment paper. Process butter, flour and sugar to a dough. Press the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the hot oven for 20 until golden.
Meanwhile make the filling:
Heat butter, sugar, golden sugar and canned condensed milk gently in a sauce pan. Stirr well while making the mixture boil and simmer for some minutes until it is very thick. Then pour over the baked shortbread base and let it cool in the fridge.
Topping
Spread the melted chocolate over the caramel mixture and let cool completely. Cut into small stripes and share!