"THE RON WHITE"

You've seen from other posts that Ryan and I are big supporters of Movember and Movember Jax. I've been helping out plan the Jacksonville Movember events for a few months now and am soo excited to see what we've already been able to do here in Jacksonville! I'm proud of our Mo Bros and Mo Sistas of Duval! As of today, the Movember Jax Network has raised over $7,300!!! We've done two bake sales for Movember already, with two more planned.

If you didn't know already, Movember means a lot to me because my dad is a prostate cancer survivor. Men's cancers don't get anywhere near the attention they need, considering that more men are diagnosed each year with prostate cancer then women are with breast cancer! Where are the baby blue ribbon water bottles, socks, fire trucks, ziploc bags, nfl uniforms, sunglasses, candy bars, water filters, syndicated comic strips, tinted newspapers, races, etc. Hell, why are there breast cancer ladders, coolers, footballs, and scuba diving fins,but none for the men?!? Aren't those manly things?!? Okay, off my soapbox.

When I saw a retweet from the Cupcake Project about the Manly Cupcake Challenge, sponsored by C & C Cakery, I just knew that BUI had to be a apart of it! We decided we have to take a "feminine" thing and make it manly. 

Ron White

First off, we needed an inspiration... we brainstormed over what was manly and came across a lot of ideas, but couldn't figure out how to interpret them into a cupcake. Of course, it had have beer... but what kind? I remembered that I once had an IPA from Cigar City Beer, a part of their Humidor series. Everything about this beer reeks of manliness. While drinking it, I thought I was drinking a cigar. As I thought of that cigar, an image came to mind... Ron White. With the brooding and occasional tasteless humor, the cigar, and the scotch, Ron White is a great example of modern manliness. So we went with that inspiration. I present to you, the super secret, the cupcake of all that is man, "The Ron White".

Like all of our cupcakes, "The Ron White" is just a variation on a classic recipe. Ryan suggestion a chocolate cupcake, but it had to be with dark and dry chocolate. Paired with the Humidor IPA, this cupcake is sharp, dry, and amazingly delicious. Topped with a Caramel Johnnie Walker Blue frosting, that still retains it's burn, we hit this challenge square on the head. It's really freaking good.

So what's in "The Ron White"?

• 5 0.35 oz Squares of 88% Cocoa Dark Chocolate
• 1 Stick & 2 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Cups of White Sugar
• 1 1/4 cup of Cigar City Humidor IPA (use a cask aged IPA if you can't find this beer where you live)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 Cups of Cake Flour
• 1/2 of Regular Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon of Salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

As normal, mix the wet and dry ingredients separately. In the wet bowl, mix all but one tablespoon of butter with the eggs and vanilla. In the dry bowl, mix the flower, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Add the sugar into the wet bowl, beating steadily as you mix. Before adding in the dry ingredients, melt the chocolate and the last tablespoon of butter, using a double boil method. Pour the chocolate into the wet bowl and mix until smooth. Slowly add in the dry ingredients until you have a nice cake batter like, non-lumpy, consistency. Just like any other cake. We baked the cupcakes at 350° for 16 minutes. This recipe yielded two dozen cupcakes, with enough left over for a little cake! (We at BUI like little cakes, it's ours to devour!)

For the Caramel Scotch Frosting you'll need...

• 1/2 Cup of Butter
• 1 Cup of Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup of Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 Cups of Sifted Powdered Sugar
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla
• 1 1/2 Ounces of Johnnie Walker Blue
• Dash of Ground Sea Salt to Top the Cupcake

Melt the butter in a saucepan then stir in the brown sugar. Cook the sugar and butter over low heat for about two minutes. Add in the sweetened condensed milk and stir until boiling. Add in the sifted sugar and vanilla and beat until desired texture is reached. Finish with adding in the scotch, stirring a bit more. We dip the cupcake tops in the caramel then top with a few sprinkles of sea salt.

The Ron White

We'll be selling this cupcake as a Movember fundraiser at the weekly Movember meetup at Riverside location of European Street Cafe. I'll post an update to let everyone know how these cupcakes do in public!

This challenge couldn't have been done without a few great prize sponsors... make sure to check them out too!

• Blush Printables- a $15 electronic gift card
• Hello Hanna - A pack of Sweet Stands (for every finalist)
• Elise Steven’s Illustration and Design - a hand-painted ornament featuring our mascot, Colonel Cupcake.
• Taraduff - a handmade bearded beanie
• Miss Kitty Creations - a special edition Tuxedo Cupcake Charm
• Bella Cupcake Couture - one pack of Cupcake Wrappers for each finalist and one extra for our grand prize winner
• Drama Llama - a handmade secret stuffie
• My Creative Side - Two dozen Mustaches on sticks