Let Them Drink Cake

I’ll admit, for a long time I was at a loss over what to do with Pinnacle Cake Vodka.

Now you’ve heard of cocktail-inspired cupcakes. Pina Colada, Strawberry Daiquiri and Margarita cupcakes with key lime frosting are somewhat common varieties at gourmet cupcake shops. The Duck and Bunny in Providence makes a Guiness cupcake for St. Patty’s Day, and the Food Network has this delicious recipe for an Arnold Palmer cupcake by Paula Dean.

But what about the reverse – cocktails inspired by cupcakes? For help with cake vodka cocktail recipes, I turned to past recipes from my all time favorite cooking show, Cupcake Wars. Each of the cocktails listed below is inspired by one of the show’s top 70 recipes listed on their website. Click on the name of the drink for the cupcake recipe that inspired it.


Peach Berry Shortcake
1 strawberry, sliced
3 blackberries
1 ½ oz Pinnacle Cake
¾ oz peach schnapps
1 ½ oz apple cider (frozen)

First, make apple cider ice cubes by freezing about ¾ oz cider in 1 oz containers. (The cider will expand a bit when freezing, so make sure there’s some room left.) Place strawberry slices, blackberries, vodka, peach schnapps, and two cider ice cubes in a blender. Blend until smooth, then pour mixture into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a peach slice.

This is a delicious, refreshing drink that eliminates the need for ice by freezing the cider ahead of time. I used apple cider as a mixer since the cupcake recipe calls for apple cider vinegar.

Coconut Orange Chardonnay
1 ½ oz Pinnacle Cake
¾ oz Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut
2 oz orange juice
2 oz Chardonnay

Combine vodka, cream of coconut and orange juice in a shaker with plenty of ice. Shake and strain into a white wine glass. Top with chilled Chardonnay and stir. Sprinkle some shredded coconut on top for garnish.

Lemon Kiwi
1 ½ oz Pinnacle Cake
3 slices of kiwi
4 oz Minute Maid Lemonade

Cut kiwi into small pieces and muddle well in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add vodka, lemonade, and ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass over fresh ice. Add a straw and a kiwi wheel for garnish.

Lavender Cake
1 sugar cube
Scrappy’s Lavender Bitters
4 oz chilled champagne
Pinnacle Cake float

A new twist on the classic champagne cocktail. Place a sugar cube in the bottom of a champagne flute. Soak sugar cube with a couple of good splashes of Scrappy's Lavender Bitters. Add champagne. Sugar cube will start to dissolve. To “float” the vodka, gently pour a small amount as a top layer. Like the cupcake, garnish the cocktail with a couple of candy pearls and some edible lavender flower petals.

Chocolate Cherry Cola
1 ½ oz Pinnacle Cake
¾ oz Godiva chocolate liqueur
4 oz Cherry Coke

Combine vodka and chocolate liqueur in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass over fresh ice. Add Cherry Coke. Since the cupcake recipe calls for a red licorice filling, garnish with a piece of strawberry Twizzler.

Raspberry Champagne
1 oz pureed fresh raspberries
1 ½ oz Pinnacle Cake
Champagne to fill

Pour 1 oz raspberry puree into a champagne flute. Add vodka and then fill with champagne.

White Russian
This is a cocktail that inspired a cupcake that inspired a new twist on the cocktail. Since the cupcake recipe called for an Irish Cream filling, I used Bailey’s in addition to Kahlua.

1 ½ oz Pinnacle Cake
¾ oz Kahlua
¾ oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
4 oz milk
Chocolate cigarette garnish*

Combine vodka, coffee liqueur, Irish cream and milk in a highball glass with ice. Speed shake, add a straw, and garnish with a gold dusted chocolate cigarette.

*The cupcake calls for a gold dusted chocolate cigarette topper. To do this, mix equal parts vodka and gold dust to make a small amount of edible gold paint. Use a small round brush to paint the end of the chocolate cigarette. The edible paint will dry, leaving behind a gold finish.

Caramel Apple Vanilla Bean
Caramel sauce
1 ½ oz Pinnacle Cake
¾ oz homemade vanilla bean liqueur*
1 ¾ oz apple cider

Lace a cocktail glass with caramel sauce. Combine vodka, vanilla bean liqueur and apple cider in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into laced cocktail glass.

*The vanilla bean liqueur should be prepared about a month ahead of time. Combine three vanilla beans (split lengthwise and cut in half) in a screw top jar with one cup sugar and 2 cups vodka. Put top on jar and shake until sugar dissolves. Store in a cool, dark place for one month. Strain out vanilla pieces before use.

Let the celebrations begin!