The latest cookbook I had the pleasure to review for the fabulous Cooks&Books&Recipes is The Butch Bakery Cookbook. I was quick to warm to this book – the photos are beautiful, recipes are delicious and well-written, and the cupcakes are unique but not too crazy. I made a gingerbread stout cupcake to go along with my review, which can be found on Cooks&Books&Recipes (and be sure to browse around the site – there are a ton of great reviews and recipes posted there!).

I couldn’t resist diving into the book a bit more and decided to make another stout-based cupcake, this one a little less tame. The cake is a chocolate stout, and the frosting is a hefty buttercream spiked with vanilla and stout. The cupcakes are topped with chocolate-covered pretzels. Pretty good, although I’m still partial to the first cupcakes I tried. Find the recipe for Beer Run Cupcakes at Serious Eats.

• Beer Run Cupcakes (The Butch Bakery Cookbook, p. 81)