Russian Roulettes (Black Russian Cupcakes with Kahlua Cocoa Frosting)

This cupcake is a game you play and a play on words. It's fun and interactive, as good food should be. We all know the deadly game of Russian Roulette, do we not? Six chambered gun, 5 chambers empty, 1 chamber filled. Spin the barrel, point to your head and pull the trigger. We also know roulette, the great game of Vegas, Paris, and Monaco. Both games of chance where you can win big and loose bigger. These cupcakes play the same kind of game.

Utilizing the Russian Roulette aspect, I made Black Russian cake. Chocolate and coffee liquor - how can you go wrong? The cake is old fashioned, very "like mom made it", but the coffee and Kahlua give an adult flavor. The frosting builds another layer of texture and flavor which is always tastylicious. I really wanted to include red and black color like with a roulette wheel, but I didn't have the equipment to make red and black pastillage numbers, and red and black sprinkles seem tacky to me. Ah well, another day.

The chance you take with these cupcakes is you may have to quite literally bite the bullet. One of these are laced with a bit of spice. And not bad spice. The cupcakes taste great. People were actually looking for the bullet cupcakes. But if you're wary and your luck isn't with you and you pick the wrong cupcake, you won't know until after the first bite is swallowed.

You feel a tingle.

Then the burn in the back of your mouth. Cayenne pepper begins to set you ablaze, but you love it and eat the rest. The best bullet you ever took. Followed by a big glass of milk to cool you down of course. I think Rob's description of it when I tricked him into eating it was, "I'm going to stab you in the mouth." (Can you feel the love?) Before you all get all "That's abusive, etc, etc" know that I tried one too and would never serve anything I wouldn't eat myself. Trust me, I ate four before I found a proper balance of heat. Use yourself as a guide when it comes to spicing the unlucky bullet cupcakes. Out of two dozen cupcakes, I only spiced three of them which is just enough in my opinion. Enough to make people nervous.

This is a great cupcake for the office (we all had a laugh, even the unlucky players who ran for water or a tissue for their runny noses) or as a game with friends at a party. Go ahead and try your luck.

Special shout out goes to McAuliflower of Brownie Points for inspiring the roulette aspect to this.

Russian Roulettes (Black Russian Cupcakes)
Makes 24 cupcakes / 350 F degree oven

What You'll Need...
3/4 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups of sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of milk
2/3 cup of Kahlua
1/2 cup of coffee, room temperature
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
cayenne pepper

What You'll Do...
1) Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2) Beat the eggs and egg yolk in, one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds after each addition.
3) Measure the rest of the dry ingredients and sift together in one bowl. Mix the wet ingredients into another.
4) Add about 1/3 of the dry mixture to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about half the liquid mixture and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet, finishing with the dry. Stop mixing when just combined.
5) Remove enough batter for however many cupcakes you want to spice up. Add 1/4 of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper for each cupcake you plan to make a bullet of. Mix well and scoop into cupcake papers.
6) Scoop the rest of the batter into cupcake papers.
7) Bake for 18-22 minutes at 350 or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool and frost.

Cocoa Kahlua Frosting
What You'll Need...
6 tablespoons of butter, softened
2 - 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons of Kahlua
2-3 tablespoons of coffee

What You'll Do...
Beat the butter until light and creamed. Add a cup of the sugar and mix well. Add the cocoa, Kahlua and coffee, mix. Add the other cup of powdered sugar and more if needed to taste and preferred frosting consistency.