Happy St. Patrick's Day! For all you looking to celebrate with something sweet, these are NOT your kid's cupcakes. I repeat. These are NOT your kid's cupcakes!
I've been making a Guinness cake/cupcake for my husband and his friends/coworkers/whoever will eat them for the past couple of years, and last year I thought it would be really great to add some Baileys. I wasn't sure how exactly, but it sounded delicious. So in getting my recipe together for this year's batch, I came across this one. And boy. I may have out done myself. The cupcakes alone are yummy. The ganache for the center- DE-licious. But the frosting! Oh my the frosting! I may be dreaming of it tonight.
The usual cast of characters, with a few Irish friends
I'm better at baking. Not so much opening a can of Guinness...
First up, we heat the Guinness with the butter
Until it looks like this
Add the cocoa and mix until it's nice and smooth
Next up- the dry ingredients
Then, mix the eggs with the sour cream until blended
After mixing the egg and sour cream, add in the chocolate/beer mixture and combine
Add the dry ingredients, a little bit at a time, and combine until mixed
When it's all done, it will look like this- although it was thicker in person
Fifteen minutes later, you will get these delicious looking things
Onto the filling. 8 oz of bittersweet chocolate chopped into small pieces. Some pieces may have gone missing during this step... quality control :)
Heat up some heavy cream. I did about a minute in the microwave
Pour the heated cream over the chocolate pieces and stir. The heat from the cream will melt the chocolate into a nice creaminess
Oh yeah
Now we are going to add the good stuff. A little whiskey never hurt anyone
You're really not putting in a lot, so if this doesn't sound good, don't worry, you can't taste it. As someone who is not a fan of whiskey, I can honestly say that it takes nothing from the overall deliciousness of the cupcake.
Once the filling has cooled and is stiff, you're going to cut out the center of the cupcakes. Don't go all the way to the bottom, just about 3/4 of the way. An apple corer works really well. But I don't have one, so I used a knife, and two teaspoons to dig them out. Thank you English silverware set!
Now take that yummy filling you made and fill up those holes until the goodness is oozing out
Last step is the frosting. A little butter
After beating the butter until it's nice and fluffy, add the powdered sugar in half cup increments
And now, the best part. Bailey's Irish Cream
While you're whipping up the frosting, you can keep the cupcakes in the fridge, so the filling can harden before you frost them
And voila!
Now, go make these. Right now. Because they are amazing.
Makes 24 to 30 cupcakes
Cupcakes
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
Ganache Filling
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)- I put in one... and whatever spilled into the bowl
Bailey's Frosting
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperatue
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)- I put in 3
Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. In another large bowl, beat eggs and sour cream. Add stout-chocolate mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake for 15-17 minutes.
Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.
Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a half cup at a time. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, add the Baileys (or milk) and beat until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.
Cupcakes
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
Ganache Filling
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)- I put in one... and whatever spilled into the bowl
Bailey's Frosting
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperatue
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)- I put in 3
Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. In another large bowl, beat eggs and sour cream. Add stout-chocolate mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake for 15-17 minutes.
Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.
Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a half cup at a time. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, add the Baileys (or milk) and beat until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.
