Bourbon Vanilla Cupcakes

CUPCAKES 1 cup butter 2 cups Bourbon Smoked Sugar 1 tsp. Bourbon Madagascar Vanilla Extract 3 Tbsp. Bourbon 4 cups flour 1 Tbs. baking powder ½ tsp. salt ¾ cup whole milk 10 egg whitesFROSTING ¾ cups Bourbon Smoked Sugar ½ cup boiling water ⅓ cup meringue powder 2 sticks butter, softened 1 lb. confectioner’s sugar 1 tsp. Bourbon Madagascar Vanilla Extract INSTRUCTIONS Preheat the oven to 325°F, and prepare cupcake tins with liners. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add the vanilla and bourbon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the milk and the dry ingredients into the butter, but alternate the dry ingredients with the milk. Add in 3 batches beginning and ending with the dry. This prevents curdling. In a separate dry bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, do not over beat as this will make it difficult to fold in the whites. Add ⅓ of the egg whites and stir to incorporate. This addition lightens the batter. Add the remaining whites and fold in gently until no streaks remain. Pour the batter into prepared tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes. For frosting, dissolve sugar in the boiling water and let cool to room temperature. In a bowl with a mixer, beat the meringue powder and cooled syrup on high until it forms peaks, about 5-7 minutes. Lower the speed to the lowest setting and add the confectioner’s sugar. Once cupcakes cool, frost the cake and garnish with Bourbon Vanilla Sugar.