Week 11 :: Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting (and Irish whiskey ganache)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This week I made a handful of treats for St. Patty's day.  I didn't just make the "Irish Car Bomb" Cupcakes, but I used those same recipes to make the cake below and I also made the iced sugar cookies from last week.  I clearly love holiday baking!  All of these recipes were a hit so I hope you give them a try!  Happy Baking!

These "Irish Car Bomb" Cupcakes originated in the Smitten Kitchen.  What a great website and source for some incredible recipes that will amaze you but are fairly easy to make!  I'd like to think I am a talented baker, but I have nowhere near the amazing creativity and skill this chef has at creating unique recipes. Other recipes from the Smitten Kitchen site I hope to try in future weeks are the Apple Cider Donuts and Gateau des Crepes.  

"Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes"
Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey's Frosting
Prep Time :: 30 minutes
Bake Time :: 17-19 minutes
::Ingredients::
For the Cupcakes

• 1 cup Guinness
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 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

For the Ganache Filling 

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)

For the Baileys Frosting

• 3 to 4 cups confections sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 3 to 4 tablespoons Bailey's

 ::Directions::

1. Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. If you have a pattered cupcake liner you want to use, double up in each cup. 
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. 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. 
4. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.
5. Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl, add butter. 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 in 1- second increments until melted.) Add whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.
6. 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 so it doesn't harden). Meanwhile, using a 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer or knife, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes (about 1 inch around and 1 inch deep, once cut these can be scooped out easily with a spoon).  Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
7. Make the frosting: Whip the butter for several minutes with an electric mixer. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.  Once you have a creamy consistency, add the Bailey's and mix until smooth.