Salted Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add chocolate stout and bring mixture to a simmer.
2. While stout and butter are heating up, beat sugar and eggs together. Add salt and flour and mix to combine (I use my stand mixer). The mixture should be relatively dry and resemble coarse biscuit dough.
3. Add baking soda to buttermilk and stir to combine.
4. Stream buttermilk and baking soda mixture into batter and stir to combine. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl if you are using a stand mixer to make sure everything gets incorporated.
5. Add vanilla extract to batter and stir to combine.
6. Once stout and butter mixture has come to a simmer, stir the cocoa into the hot liquid and whisk to work out any lumps. Remove mixture from heat and stream it slowly into batter, mixing as you go until everything is just combined. The batter will be thin; that’s okay!
7. Pour batter into standard-sized cupcake liners.
8. Bake at 375ºF for 15-20 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
9. Top with chocolate buttercream and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Serve immediately.

For the buttercream:
1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together with a hand beater. You can also do this with the whisk attachment in your stand mixer. Beat frosting for 2-3 minutes after ingredients are combined, to give it a bit of body. The frosting should hold its shape and be able to form stiff peaks. If you need it a little thicker, add more powdered sugar. Too thick? Add a few teaspoons of milk to thin it out.
2. Frost cupcakes with a piping bag and a Wilton #1M tip. You could also use a ziploc bag with the corner cut out or spread the frosting on with a knife, but I think piping it just looks pretty.
3. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on top of frosting and serve immediately.