Cognac-Infused Hennessy Cupcakes Recipe (from boxed mix)
This Hennessy Cupcakes Recipe makes delightfully moist cupcakes that are perfect for any party. Yummy boxed cake mix infused with cognac, and topped with salted caramel buttercream frosting makes delicious boozy cupcakes that feel extra celebratory!
You’ll love these Hennessy Infused Cupcakes Recipe
If you haven’t had boozy cognac cupcakes, now is the time.
Imagine creamy, caramelly, moist, fluffy Hennessey Cupcakes. They are easy to make thanks to the boxed cake mix.
It’s no secret I have a thing for cupcakes and cocktails. And in these Henny cupcakes are both!
This recipe is a little bit different than some of my other favorite boozy cupcakes. Instead of having Hennessey baked in the cupcakes, it’s added after baking with the pipette.
It makes it a little more interactive, but also a little more boozy, so beware!
Related: Tasty Alcohol-Infused Cupcakes
If you have a bottle of cognac sitting on your bar that doesn’t get used very often, here’s a fun way to get some use out of it. And if Henny is your drink, then of course you’ll love these boozy cupcakes!
Decorated with gold sanding sugar and a tasty salted caramel frosting then finished off with a cognac-filled pipette, these easy cupcakes are a great way to celebrate with your adult friends. These would be an amazing dessert for a 21st birthday!
Ingredients
The ingredients you’ll need to make these Hennessey cupcakes are all accessible at your nearest grocery store.
- Yellow cake mix
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- water
- Buttercream frosting
- Salted caramel frosting
- Hennessy cognac
- Gold sanding sugar
The yellow cake mix makes a great base to build flavors on. I love cake mix desserts since using the boxed mix saves a little bit of time.
Using a mix of store-bought frostings is one of my favorite hacks. Here adding the buttercream makes the caramel flavor a little more subtle and let’s the cognac really have a moment.
You can use homemade buttercream if you prefer. It’s a lot easier to make than you may think!
If you can’t find salted caramel frosting, you can just use buttercream and either add a little bit of salted caramel sauce before mixing (take care to not make it too runny) or finish with a drizzle of sauce.
The sanding sugar adds a subtle crunch and sparkly finishing touch but you can leave it off if you prefer.
Hennessey in the pipette makes it feel decadent and lets each person decide how boozy they want their cupcakes to be. It’s almost like a cupcake and a shot.
How to make Hennessey cupcakes from boxed mix
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
Step 1
Add the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs to a large bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer.
Step 2
Beat on high for 3 minutes, until you have a smooth batter.
Step 3
Fill the cupcake liners ¾ full with batter.
Step 4
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 5
Transfer pan to a cooling rack, and allow cupcakes to cool completely for 1-2 hours.
How to make cognac frosting
Add both cans of frosting (1 buttercream and 1 salted caramel) to a medium bowl, or stand mixer, along with ½ tablespoon of cognac, and beat on high for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.
Decorate
Add the frosting to a piping bag equipped with the tip, and pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.
Sprinkle with gold sanding sugar.
Add the pipettes
Fill the pipettes with Hennessey cognac, and insert them into cupcakes.
Infuse the cupcakes without a pipette
If you don’t want to add the cognac with the pipette, you can infuse it right in the cupcake batter.
When following the printable recipe below, simply use 3 TBSP – 1/4 cup of Hennessey and then water to make up the rest of a cup. (You’ll see the original recipe has 1 cup of water, so you’ll be using some water and some cognac).
Bake as usual. This way will be less boozy and have a little bit less Hennessey flavor.
Take care if adding more in a pipette as it may be way too strong.
How to Make It Your Own
- Texture – Top the cupcakes with nuts like chopped almonds, pecans, or walnuts for added texture. You can also use mini chocolate chips!
- Sauce – As an alternative to gold sanding sugar, you can drizzle caramel sauce on top of your cupcakes for added decoration and flavor.
- Filling – Insert little caramel fudge squares in the middle of the cupcake batter before baking for a surprise!
- Chocolate – You can follow the same recipe and use chocolate cake mix instead! Cognac and chocolate pair really well together.
- Different Liquor – If you don’t have Hennessey you can use something else like spiced rum, bourbon or even anejo tequila.
Top tips
- Use an ice cream scoop to portion the cupcake batter to make uniform, evenly-sized cupcakes.
- Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting. Otherwise, the frosting will melt on the hot cupcakes! It’ll still be delicious though.
- For extra flavor, brush the cupcake tops with cognac.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can store the leftovers in any sealed container and keep them in the fridge for up to five days. It’s best if you don’t store them with frosting on them so try to only frost what you need and add frosting to the rest as needed.
Cognac is a type of brandy and has a complex flavor. It is kind of like bourbon but has more fruit-forward notes (think raisin and apricot) and oak flavor from the aging barrels. It also has spices like cinnamon and some citrus notes.
Most of the alcohol will burn off but keep in mind that the frosting has cognac in it that won’t be cooked off.
If you use the pipettes, the flavor of cognac will be strong. But if you use the method where you bake the cognac into the batter, it will be more subtle.
If you’ve had a bottle of Hennessey on your shelf for a long time, you may want to grab a fresh bottle. Once opened, the oxidation process starts and, over the next year, the quality will diminish. Because you are using the cognac in the pipettes and frosting, you’ll want to ensure the flavor is fresh.
Don’t these Henny cupcakes look elegant and delicious?!
Make sure you don’t lose this recipe by saving it for later! Also, for more recipes make sure you’re following me on Pinterest, Instagram and like my page on Facebook. If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a star rating and tag me in your pictures!
More easy alcohol-infused dessert recipes
- White Wine Cake
- Coconut Rum Cupcakes
- Bourbon Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze
- White Russian Cupcakes with Vodka
- Boozy Elderflower Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream
- Spiced Rum Cupcakes with Pipettes
- Coconut Cupcakes Recipe (no alcohol)
- Boozy Pina Colada Cupcakes
Hennessy Cupcakes Recipe (Cognac Cupcakes)
Equipment
- Pipettes
Ingredients
- 15 oz yellow cake mix
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 16 oz buttercream frosting
- 16 oz salted caramel frosting
- ½ – ¾ cup Hennessy cognac
- gold sanding sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Add the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs to a large bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer, and beat on high for 3 minutes, until you have a smooth batter.
- Fill 24 cupcake cavities ¾ full with batter, transfer the pan to the oven, and bake for 12-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Transfer pan to a cooling rack, and allow cupcakes to cool for 1-2 hours.
- Add both cans of frosting to a medium bowl, or stand mixer, along with ½ tablespoon of cognac, and beat on high for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the frosting to a piping bag equipped with the tip, and pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.
- Sprinkle gold sanding sugar onto cupcakes.
- Fill the pipettes with cognac, and insert into cupcakes.
