Saying the title of these cupcakes is a mouthful. Eating them is a FABULOUS mouthful.

I originally wanted to make the cupcakes with Dogfish World Wide Stout after a friend sent me a photo of one from the Dogfish Facebook page . With 18% abv I was intrigued to taste the beer let alone bake with it. Alas, we have Dogfish available in the area, but not the WW Stout.

So, being that St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow, Guinness Stout couldn’t be a more acceptable alternate. It definitely complements the Bushmills Whiskey and the Bailey’s Irish Cream. What wouldn’t?

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes With Whiskey Ganache And Bailey’s Cream Cheese Icing

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 cup stout (such as Guinness. If you try the recipe with the Dogfish, you have to let me know how it came out!)
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Whiskey Filling

Ingredients:

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey

Baileys Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
4oz unsalted butter, softened
5 cups confectioners’ sugar (you may need a bit more or less depending on how much Bailey’s you add)
4 – 6 Tablespoons of Bailey’s Irish Cream

Directions for cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners.

2. 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.

3. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend.

4. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined.

5. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way (a two cup measuring cup makes this easy). Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Directions for the filling:

1. 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 microwave for 20 seconds, watching carefully.) Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.

2. 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).

3. Meanwhile, use a 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer (I used a large round piping tip) to 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  will help you get the center out. You may discard those cake scraps into your mouth.

4. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top. (I used a small spoon to do this)

Directions for the icing:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, add the cream cheese and butter, combine.

2. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

3. Drizzle in the Bailey’s, more or less depending on how boozey you want the icing, and beat until completely incorporated.

4. Ice and decorate the cupcakes.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Canadian Laura Marr may not be Irish, but I thought this song was perfect for the cupcakes.
Lisa Marr Experiment-Beer & Whiskey

The NYC Irish rock band Black 47, made up of Irish ex-pats, is currently celebrating their 20th year on the road. I need to catch them live one of these days. If you are not familiar with Black 47, I suggest you start with their album ‘Fire of Freedom’ which is packed with cracking good tunes. Then work your way through their other stuff. All good.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this Black 47 song. ‘Is this what I’ve been educated for?’.
Black 47-Livin’ In America

Sláinte!