Awesome St. Patty's Day Cupcakes!

First thing about these cupcakes (which I'm sure you could guess with them being for St. Patty's Day) is that there's booze in them. Actually there are three different kinds of booze: Guinness, whiskey and Bailey's Irish Cream... in the cake mix, filling and the frosting. Basically I read the recipe (and saw some pics) and knew nothing else could come near to beating it on the awesomeness scale. I came across it on the Serious Eats website last weekend and the pictures were enough to initiate droolage.


Back in college some friend purchased a keg of Guinness for their St. Patrick's Day party. I absolutely abhorred the taste! Needless to say multiple people brought their own beverages. My taste in beer has matured since then... but I'm still not quite up to the Guinness level. Luckily the Guinness in this recipe is cooked down a little then baked in the cupcake batter. I wasn't worried about the flavor because I knew the chocolate in there would enhance the deliciousness. The sour cream helps create a more dense cake. These would even be good if you didn't use the filling.... but they wouldn't be AS awesome :-)

The recipe is surprisingly straightforward, but it takes a good chunk of time to complete the different steps. Once the cupcakes are baked and fully cooled (important to keep the filling from making a big ol' mess) you carve out a circle in the center, going about 2/3rds of the way down. I had experience with this technique from some jam-filled cupcakes I had made last summer. You have to be careful not to cut all the way through or there will be major chocolate spillage when you remove the cupcake liner.


I added extra Bailey's Irish Cream to the frosting because: a. it's absolutely delicious and b... well, it was St. Patty's Day! The flavor of the alcohol is so creamy it just adds that extra oomph to the yummy cupcakes.


The most important thing for me was that these cupcakes were FUN. I really enjoyed the process of making these chocolaty treats. I had initially found another chocolate and Guinness cupcake recipe, but it was too simple. I had the day off and I wanted a challenge! I constantly tortured my family and friends by sending them photo updates as I baked away.

If you want delicious cupcakes for a special event, this is a great recipe to use! You can play around with the different ingredients to enhance certain flavors. Yum!


Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Irish Whiskey Filling
Makes about 20 cupcakes
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For the cupcakes:
1 cup stout (Guinness was perfect)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream (full fat is best)

For the filling:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghiradelli.. yum!)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup Bailey's Irish Cream (the original recipe called for 2/3 cup heavy cream and no Bailey's, but the baker from Serious Eats loved the flavor with the alcohol)
2 Tbsp butter, room temp.
1 to 2 tsp Irish whiskey (I only had the really cheap stuff, but use the good stuff if you have it. I'm pretty sure you'll taste the difference)

For the frosting:
3 to 4 cups confectioners sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temp
3 to 4 Tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream (I eyeballed it... probably used around 6... oh it was tasty)

1. Prep: Pre-heat oven to 350-degrees. Line cupcake cups with liners (I only needed 20)

2. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.


3. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.


4. In a separate large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 tsp salt.

5. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer (I just used my standing mixer), beat eggs and sour cream to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture and beat until just combined.


6. Add the dry mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using a spatula, fold batter until completely combined.


7. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean 17 - 20 minutes (It took the full 20 for me). Place cupcakes on a rack until completely cool.


8. While the cupcakes cool, make the filling. Chop the chocolate into coarse, but roughly even pieces (I used bittersweet chips), and transfer to a heatproof bowl.


9. Heat the cream until it is simmering (not boiling) and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute, then stir smooth (may need an extra 20 seconds in the microwave). Add the butter, Irish Cream and whiskey and stir until combined.


10. Make space for filling; the original recipe calls for using an apple corer, but using a small paring knife works fine (I gently work the knife around in a circle then pull the piece out. The cupcakes are soft enough that it comes out fairly easy. Just be careful not to cut too far down or you'll be wearing your chocolate filling).



11. Fill the cupcakes. If it's thick you can pipe it, but spooning it in should be easy.


12. Make the frosting: In an electric mixer, mix the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Slowly add the confectioners sugar until it looks thick enough to spread. Then add the Irish Cream (come on, you can eyeball it). You can tweak the consistency by adding more sugar if needed. At this point I added a few drops of green food coloring.



13. Frost your cupcakes. (You can pipe it to look really pretty. My piping bag split a few weeks ago and a zippie bag wouldn't work, so I used my little spatula to smear it on) Enjoy!!