Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Lá Féile Pádraig Shona Daiobh! (Happy St. Patrick’s Day! )Today is the last St. Patrick’s Day recipe that I will be posting this year. But this one is a goodie! As if my blog hasn’t been boozy enough recently, I thought you might like to make some cupcakes which feature three fantastic Irish adult style beverages, namely Guinness Stout, Jameson Irish Whiskey and Bailey’s Irish Cream. The ingredients here are reminiscent of the beer cocktail which I’m sure many St. Patrick’s Day revelers will be drinking today….The Car Bomb. What in the world is a Car Bomb that you drink? Well, you take a shot glass. Fill it most of the way with Baileys Irish Cream. Float some Jameson Whiskey on top of it and then drop the shot glass into a pint of Guinness Stout. There is a somewhat explosive foaming reaction from the Guinness and the drinkers goal is to chug the whole thing down before it curdles. Wow huh? The drink was not invented in Ireland, but seems to have come from Norwich, Connecticut. This insane cocktail apparently inspired Deb at Smitten Kitchen to come up with the recipe for her Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes, which I used here. Thank goodness she did! These cupcakes are almost unbelievable, the word phenomenal even comes to mind. And, even better, pretty easy to make. You just bake the chocolatey, Guinnessey, wonderful cupcakes.

 

Cupcakes coolin off

Once they’ve cooled you use an apple corer to cut out the centers so that you can fill them with a sinful Irish Whiskey Chocolate Ganache.

Filling the Cupcake

Chocolate Irish Whiskey Ganache filling

Then you frost them with a dreamy Bailey’s Irish Cream frosting. Are you drooling yet? I made them for a get together back in January and folks went wild! These really are a must for your St. Patrick’s Day party. We’re actually having a St. Patrick’s Day celebration later this evening. I will be serving most of the dishes that I posted leading up to today, though most in a more appetizer-like form. Wish me luck, there is a lot to do before 7 pm this evening!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

The Cupcakes:

1 Cup Guinness Stout

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

Whiskey Ganache Filling

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

2/3 Cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons butter, room temperature

1-2 teaspoons Irish whiskey

Baileys Frosting

3-4 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3-4 Tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

Directions:

The Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 24 cupcakes cups with parchment paper or liners. Bring 1 cup Guinness stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric or stand mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl. 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. Divide batter among cupcake liner, filling them 2/3 of the way. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Whiskey Ganache:

Chop the chocolate and transfer 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. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.

Using your 1″ round cookie cutter or apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, cutting down 2/3 of the way through the cakes. Fill a piping bag with the Whiskey Ganache. Pipe the ganache into the holes, filling each cupcake to the top.

Baileys Buttercream Frosting:

Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes until it is very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time. If you add the sugar too quickly you will not only have grainy icing, but you will need to add a lot more sugar to get the icing to reach the correct consistency.

Once the frosting appears to be the correct consistency to ice the cupcakes, drizzle in the Baileys and whip it until combined.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes. For St. Patrick’s Day I used green sprinkles.