I've been really wanting to get into making Cupcakes. I love them, especially mini cupcakes. They're cute, bite size, and you don't have to feel guilty about eating one of them. All cupcakes are are small versions of cakes, right? But I think they're something even more special. They can be their own little works of art in a tiny size.
This cupcake craving led me to hear about a place called Yummy Cupcakes in Burbank. They have all these different unique flavors that you would never really think of with cupcakes. Then I saw that they had a Guinness cupcake. I was like, "OoooOooooO I have to get that!". So I went and unfortunately missed the Guinness cupcakes by a day! Nooooooo! Ever since then I've been dying to know what these tasted like, so I decided to make my own.
My friend was having a housewarming party this past Saturday and thought it would be perfect to bring these cupcakes, and hope they turned out good. Of course, I had to make mini's because they're so cute. They went over sooo well! Everyone loved them. Next time I'm going to try this with Murphy's Irish Stout because that beer is a-ma-zing. I scoured the internet for recipes and found some that I thought sounded good.
I forgot exactly where I got the recipe that I used to make these because I looked at so many, but I will post it below, of course.
| Things in mini make everything taste better |
I made a few minor changes to the recipe, as I will let you know what I did as I go along. Also, I figured the Guinness and chocolate might be a little sweeter and heavier so I decided to make a Bailey's whipped cream frosting instead of the usual buttercream, to make it lighter.
So without further ado, Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes....
I doubled the Recipe and it came out to around 40 small cupcakes and about 3 large ones.
BATTER
1/2 cup Guinness (or other stout)
1/2 cup butter (melted)
3/8 cup (aka 1/4 + 1/8 cups) cocoa powder
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
*Note: because I doubled the recipe it would have been 2 cups of sugar. I didn't want them too sweet so I used 1 1/2 cups and they were great. I also like to use Turbinado Raw Sugar instead of white.
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/8 cup (aka 1/4 + 1/8 cups) cup sour Cream
GNACHE
3 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon Jameson whiskey (or other whiskey)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
BAILEY'S WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING
2 c. heavy whipping cream
2/3 c. sugar
2 T Baileys Irish Cream
CUPCAKE INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F)
Melt the butter (on the stovetop or in the microwave)
Add Guinness and cocoa powder and stir to combine well
In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda
In an electric mixer, beat egg and sour cream just until combined
Add the flour mixture a little at a time until all of it is in and it is mixed well
Add chocolate mixture and mix well, for about 3-4 minutes (I did it for 5 actually)
Place cupcake papers in the muffin tin
Spoon the mixture into the tin to fill about 3/4 full (you'll have enough for 12 cupcakes)
*These puff up a lot so don't overfill
Bake for 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
Remove from oven and allow to cool fully
GNACHE:
Gently heat cream on the stovetop
Add chocolate and let sit for a few moments
Stir gently until chocolate is melted and combined with the cream
Mix in butter, vanilla, and Jameson
Allow to cool until thick (semi-solid)
Spoon into a pastry bag or plastic bag
*Tip: You can add more alcohol to the gnache if you're careful. Just a lil less cream & butter
| Mini heaven |
-Whip heavy whipping cream until it looks like whipped cream.
-Mix in sugar and Baileys Irish Cream until just combined.
*
After the cupcakes have cooled, use a small spoon or melon baller to scoop out the centers
Pipe in ganache to fill (but try not to have them overflowing)
Pipe icing onto the top. I used a Wilton decorating tip #18
Lastly, I found some super cute golden sugar sprinkles to finish them
