Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

First I would like to say thank you to So, How's it taste? for posting this amazing recipe! She also posts lots of other amazing recipes, so if you don't know about her blog, check it out!

I saw this recipe posted on Facebook and thought to myself "I must make these!" So, when a friends birthday happened to be a week away, I decided that they would be the perfect thing for me to bring. They combine all of the ingredients of the traditional Irish Car Bomb Shot (Guinness, Whiskey, and Bailey's) into an awesome dessert.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
1 cup Guinness
16 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 cups Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 tsp. Salt
2 Large Eggs
2/3 cup Sour Cream

Ganache Filling:
8oz. Bittersweet Chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup Heavy Cream
2 tbsp. Butter, at room temperature
1-2 tsp. Whiskey (traditionally Jameson Whiskey. You can also substitute Bailey's if you don't care for whiskey)

Bailey's Buttercream Frosting:
2 sticks (1cup) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
3-4 cups Confectioners' Sugar
3-4 tbsp. Bailey's Irish Cream

*Note: the Guinness gets mostly baked out of the cupcakes. but if you're serving these for people who don't drink, you'll want to leave out the whiskey or Bailey's from the ganache and frosting. You can use milk for the frosting instead.


Directions:
1. To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine the Guinness and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flower, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine eggs and sour cream until smooth. Add the Guinness-butter mixture and beat just to combine. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 to 3/4 full. bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

3. to make the ganache filling, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering, then pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for one minute and then whisk until smooth. If the chocolate is not completely melted, place in the bowl over a double boiler or give it a very short burst in the microwave (15-20 seconds). Add the butter and Whiskey (or Bailey's) and stir until combined.

4. Set aside to let the ganache cool until it is thick enough to be piped (or you can spoon the mixture into the cupcakes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or apple corer, cut the centers our 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. Once the ganache has reached the correct consistency, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a wide tip and pipe into the cupcakes.

5. To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar until it is incorporated. Mix in the Bailey's until smooth. Add more if necessary until the frosting has reached a good consistency for piping or spreading. Frost the cupcakes as desired.


These cupcakes are amazing. They have a nice rich chocolate taste and the Bailey's frosting compliments it very well. I personally didn't care for the ganache filling, but everyone else that tried them liked it.

I also wanted to experiment with different flavors of frosting. So I split up the butter and sugar mixture into several different bowls first and then added in different flavors. In the front of the picture you see the Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting. In the back on the left, there is the Cherry and Mint Buttercream Frostings. And then in the back on the right, there is the Bailey's Buttercream frosting. This was also my first time piping any sort of frosting onto anything, so be nice about how it looks. :P


Once again, thanks to So, How's it taste? for the recipe!