Chocolate Whiskey Dipped Irish Cupcakes

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daiobh! (Happy St. Patrick’s Day!) Woohoo! It’s finally here! Everyone is Irish today! I’m sticking with my blogging tradition and featuring a tasty Irish-y cupcake on St. Patrick’s Day. Two years ago it was Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, last year brought you Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with a Swiss Vanilla Baileys Buttercream Frosting and today…(drumroll please….) we have these deliciously decadent Chocolate Whiskey Dipped Irish Cupcakes. And just like all of my previous St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes, these little devils are a bit boozy. In fact, they have a perfect trifecta of Irish Booze. The cake portion of this treat is a rich chocolate Guinness creation, which is then topped with a velvety Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting. That sounds great all on its own right? I could’ve stopped there, but oh no….I then dipped the whole thing into a Irish Whiskey spiked Chocolate Ganache! Be still my heart!

I was inspired to make these when I saw Arctic Garden Studio’s Irish Coffee Cupcakes. I loved the idea of piling on all of that creamy Baileys frosting and then dipping the cupcake into the whiskey chocolate. It reminded me of those dipped soft serve ice cream cones. You know like the ones at Dairy Queen, or from a Mr. Whippy truck or a 99 Flake ice cream for all of you in Britain and Ireland.

For those of you unfamiliar with a “99″ it is a soft serve vanilla ice cream cone which has a piece of a Cadbury chocolate bar which is called a “Flake” stuck into it.

You can find them at all the shops etc. in Ireland. I even managed to find a Flake candy bar in good old Virginia, no small feat, and stuck it in one of my lovely cupcakes as a bit of an homage to the “99″.

Even without the added Flake, these cupcakes are so reminiscent of dipped soft serve ice cream, albeit rather boozy – perhaps there is an adult ice cream truck – that my husband has christened them “Whiskey Whippy Cakes” which I like, but thought it might leave a lot of folks confused, so I went with Chocolate Whiskey Dipped Irish Cupcakes officially, but around here it’s another story! I don’t know what it is about us and ice cream cones recently. Perhaps we’re just ready for Spring, but since we don’t have those Spring temperatures yet, I guess we will just have to make do with these little boozy cupcake imposters.

Ha! Everyone who knows me, knows I LOVE cupcakes so I’m not making much of a sacrifice here! These Whiskey Whippy Cakes will definitely make our St. Patrick’s Day all the more festive.

Which reminds me, I think it’s time for a little celebratory drinky. I have managed to blog about an Irish-y dish everyday from March 1st up through today. Phew! I’m probably going to have to take a few days off after today’s publication, but don’t worry, I’m already planning out some great tempting future treats. In the meantime, check out some of my favourite blogs which come to you from Ireland to see what they’re cooking up, like: The Green Apron, I married an Irish farmer, Edible Ireland, Warm&Snug&Fat and The Daily Spud. And when you’ve finished browsing, get busy baking some of these mouth-watering Chocolate Whiskey Dipped Irish Cupcakes with their Guinness and Baileys and Whiskey (Oh My!) Just the ticket for a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope everyone has a great time!

Chocolate Whiskey Dipped Irish Cupcakes

recipe adapted from: Runcible Eats (the cake part of the cupcake) and Arctic Garden Studio

yield: 30 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Chocolate Stout Cupcakes:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup (  3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cup Guinness, poured and settled before you measure it out
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream

For the Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Two – 8 ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur, such as Bailey’s Irish Cream

For the Chocolate Whiskey Glaze:

• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
• 4 tablespoons whiskey

Directions:

for the cupcakes:

First, bake your cupcakes. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with muffin liners and spray lightly with non-stick spray. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt your butter and set aside to cool slightly, then add in the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the stout, then set aside to cool completely for another 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sour cream, then whisk in the cooled chocolate and butter mixture. Whisk in the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt, combining until just moistened. Fill each muffin cup with 1/4 cup of batter, so that the cups are 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cupcakes are set and a toothpick comes out clean (mine took about 24 minutes). Allow to cool completely before frosting.

for the frosting:

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in the Irish cream liqueur.
Pipe frosting on top of cupcakes using a pastry bag or spread on with a spatula. You want a nice thick layer. Place cupcakes in the refrigerator while making the glaze. This will make them easier to dip.

For the glaze:

Melt the chocolate with the cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the whiskey.
Dip the tops of the frosted cupcakes in the glaze right to the edge of the cupcake paper, let excess glaze drip off before turning upright. Let cool, right side up, until the glaze is firm. Store cupcakes in the refrigerator, remove and bring to room temperature (about 30 minutes) before serving. This recipe makes more glaze than you need, but makes it easier to dunk the tops of the cupcakes. Store remaining glaze in the refrigerator, it will form a whiskey ganache that can be used later as a hot fudge ice cream topping by slowly heating or added to hot milk for a whiskey hot chocolate.

Enjoy!

Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes

So Hello again! I know it has been awhile since I’ve posted anything and you may have been wondering what ever had happened to me. At least I hope someone has noticed my absence and I haven’t just been yammering away into some sort of online oblivion. I’m actually just back from a truly fantastic holiday in Ireland.

I will definitely be telling ya’ll a bit more about that as soon as I can get myself back into some sort of routine. You know how it is post holiday…However, I wrote this blog on Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes right before I was ready to leave for my trip. You see, I told myself I would have all of these posts done before I left and then I would just post remotely. Welllll…..that didn’t work. Seems I was sort of busy with everything else before leaving and did not manage to have several blog posts ready to go. I did manage to get this one written and have shaken off enough of my jet lag to add in the appropriate pictures, along with this disclaimer. But I’m certain I will get it together soon and be back to my old blogging habits. Until then, please take a peek at these lovely Fall Cupcakes.

Happy, happy, happy!!! Fall has arrived! Of course, here in Virginia the weather can’t seem to let go of those Summer temps. We’ll have one nice crisp day followed by a sticky, humid mess of a day. But I know Summer is on its way out, so I’m in a good mood. And Apples are in season! Apples are my favourite fruit, so I’ve got some great apple dishes in store for ya’ll! I thought I’d start it all off with these Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes.

My husband just recently celebrated a birthday and he requested these cupcakes in lieu of a big birthday cake. He tends to prefer the fruit desserts over any sort of chocolate concoction, so these cinnamon cupcakes, stuffed with apple pie filling, topped with salted caramel swiss buttercream frosting and drizzled with salted caramel sauce, seemed just perfect. I was excited to make them as well, since I myself love apples and have an obsession with cupcakes. However, my glee soon came to a screeching halt. I thought making up a batch of cupcakes would be a cinch. But it turned out to be anything but. Things started to go bad with the making of the salted caramel. First attempt = failure. A big, burnt, lumpy, sticky, smoky failure. Hmmm…I hadn’t ever had trouble making caramel before. I decided to give it another go. And…another failure! What was going on? Are my stars misaligned today? Trying to stay calm, I chose a different caramel recipe and told myself “third times the charm”. Not in this house! Another mess!! But I’m nothing if not stubborn, so I kept at it! You know…to the bitter end. Well to cut this long pitiful story short, after eventually getting the caramel right only to suffer an icing melt down, I was finally able to produce these Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes.

I finished them at 11:58 p.m., so technically it was still my husband’s birthday. I promptly woke him up to have a bite of these little devils so that he would actually be able to say honestly that he had cupcakes on his birthday. Phew! But don’t worry, the recipe I have listed below, though cobbled together from a couple of sources is fool-proof. (and genuinely tested by a fool so I can tell you true!) You won’t end up like me, I promise. And these cupcakes are truly delicious. Just the thing to get you in the Fall mood.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes

recipe from: Craving Chronicles and Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Apple Pie Filling: (From Craving Chronicles)

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1.5 pounds (approx.) Honey Crisp apples (about 4 medium), peeled, cored, and finely diced
• 1 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions:

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add apples, sugars, lemon juice and cinnamon. Cook until apples are tender and release their juices – about 10 minutes. In a small bowl or glass, combine cornstarch and water. Add to apples and stir, cooking until thickened. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. (Cover and refrigerate overnight if making ahead.)

For the Salted Caramel Sauce: (from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures)

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon fleur de sel
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:

Add the sugar, corn syrup and water to a medium saucepan and stir gently to combine. Set the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the mixture registers 350 F on a candy thermometer (if you don’t have a thermometer cook until the mixture is amber in color). Turn off the heat under the pan and slowly add the cream (the caramel will bubble up quite a bit so be mindful) then the fleur de sel. Stir in the sour cream until the mixture is smooth. Allow to cool before using – you could even refrigerate for a bit so it’s not quite as thin when you go to fill the cupcakes.

For the Cinnamon Cupcakes: (From Craving Chronicles who adapted it from Annie’s Eats)

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar until thick ribbons form, about 5 minutes. Add flour mixture and beat on low just until incorporated. Add milk mixture and vanilla, and beat until blended.

Divide evenly among baking tins. Bake at 350°F for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

For the Salted Caramel Buttercream: (From Tracey’s Culinary Adventures)

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6-8 tablespoon salted caramel sauce

Directions:

Add the butter to a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter on medium-high speed until it is light and fluffy, stopping to scrape the bowl as necessary. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and sugar. Whisk to combine. Place the mixer bowl over a pot of simmering water, and, whisking constantly, heat until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved. You can test by rubbing a bit between your fingers – it shouldn’t feel gritty at all.

Put the bowl on the mixer, and starting on low and gradually increasing the speed to medium-high, beat the egg white mixture until stiff, glossy peaks form – this will take about 8-10 minutes, and the bowl should feel cool to the touch when you’ve finished. Reduce the mixer to medium-low speed, and gradually add the butter, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.

With the mixer still on medium-low, gradually add 6 tablespoons of the salted caramel sauce, and continue beating until it is completely incorporated. Taste the frosting, and if you want a stronger caramel flavor, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of caramel sauce.

Cupcake Assembly Instructions:

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, hollow out a bit of the center of each cake. You can do this with a small paring knife, an apple corer or a special cupcake corer tool. Fill each hole with cooled Apple Pie Filling. Pipe Salted Caramel Buttercream onto each cupcake. Drizzle with cooled Salted Caramel Sauce.

Enjoy!

Campfire Delight Cupcakes

“This is the best chocolate cupcake I’ve ever eaten!” Yup. Thus sayeth my husband after just one bite of these Campfire Delight Cupcakes. He followed these words with, “It is sort of like what I was always hoping those Hostess Cupcakes would taste like, except they never did.” It is true, these cupcakes are amazingly delicious! Very high up there on my favourite list as well.

They’re sort of like a s’more, hence the “campfire” thing, but without the graham cracker bit.  And I do really dig s’mores, but I gotta say, these are better! The chocolate cake part of this creation is wonderful, very moist, rich and tender. The toasted marshmallow filling in the center is sweet, creamy decadence and the malted chocolate frosting is light, fluffy perfection.

And perched right up on top sits a malted milk ball! I love those little devils!

I found this winner of a cupcake recipe on the Bitchin Kitchen blog. It seems that she found it originally on Sweetapolita’s site. What I was amazed to find was that Sweetapolita had originally made these cupcakes as a 6 Layer cake! Mercy! Now, I am a confirmed cupcake fan, let there be no doubt. But that cake looks pretty dang impressive. I may have to give it a whirl, probably sooner than later cuz folks around here have gone a bit mad for these tasty treats!

Campfire Delight Cupcakes

recipe from: A Bitchin Kitchen

yields: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup black coffee
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake tins with paper liners.

Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, add all the wet ingredients. With your mixer on medium speed, slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix for 2 minutes. The batter will be quite soupy – this is ok!

Pour batter into the prepared cupcake tins, filling just slightly more than halfway. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. Cool cupcakes in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, and then remove from pan to cool completely.

While you’re waiting for the cupcakes to cool, make your filling.

For the Filling:

• 8 large marshmallows
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 stick butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 ounces Marshmallow Fluff
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

Arrange the marshmallows on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place baking sheet on lower rack of your oven, and toast marshmallows under the broiler until they are golden brown. Keep an eye on them since they burn very quickly. Cream together the butter and powdered sugar until well blended. Add vanilla and mix on high for 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, and mix until well combined. (Bitchin Kitchen recommends that you mix the filling by hand. Seems they had a bad experience when trying to mix the filling with a hand mixer. I used my stand mixer with the paddle attachment and had no problems.)

When your cupcakes are cool, cut a small portion out of the middle with a paring knife, an apple corer or one made especially for cupcakes. Using a small piping tip, fill the hollowed out portion of the cupcake with the marshmallow filling.

For the Frosting:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup icing sugar, plus more as needed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup Classic Ovaltine
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 1/4 cup whipping cream

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until fluffy. Add the sugar slowly, about 2-3 Tablespoons at a time. Mix until well combined. Add in vanilla and Ovaltine, continue to beat until combined. Add in the melted chocolate, and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Beat in whipping cream on medium high speed for about 2 more minutes. Add more sugar as needed to reach piping consistency.

Frost cooled, filled cupcakes with frosting, garnish with chocolate sprinkles and a Whopper candy, if desired. These cupcakes are best enjoyed at room temperature, so make sure to remove them from the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to eating.

Enjoy!

Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Swiss Buttercream Frosting for our 3 year Anniversary!

Three years ago today Jay and I got hitched at Cloghan Castle in Kilcreest, County Galway, Republic of Ireland! Happiest day of my life thus far.

Apparently the traditional anniversary gift for three years of marriage is leather. Really….leather? I’m not sure what an appropriate leather gift would be. The first things that come to mind when I think of love and leather are somewhat naughty and definitely not items to be discussed here, much less presents we would be happy to receive from our parents. Oh my! Moving right along…So what are we doing to mark our three-year anniversary? Well, I’d love to say I’m writing this post from a luxury spa in Ireland.

Or perhaps from a gorgeous balcony overlooking the beaches of the Amalfi Coast in Italy.

But nope, I’m writing from good ole Virginia. We’ve had a lot of stuff going on just recently and as a consequence, were not able to schedule a fabulous vacation to coincide with our anniversary date. But I’m happy to say my wonderful husband has promised to whisk me off on several romantic getaways later this year, a couple of visits to a cozy mountain cabin in West Virginia, a jaunt in Nashville and back to Ireland and possibly even Wales. Yippee! I am so ready! But besides daydreaming about all of our future travel today, I decided to make us some Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Swiss Buttercream Frosting.

As those of you who know us are aware, Jay and I love Champagne, especially Veuve Clicquot. I’m telling you, that widow knows what she is doing on the champagne making front! I can assure you that we certainly will be drinking a bottle (or two….who knows once you get going…) to celebrate today.

And cupcakes go along brilliantly with champagne. I think so anyway. But then again, I LOVE cupcakes, so I think they go along brilliantly with everything. Or devoured all on their lonesome. We actually had a tower of cupcakes as our wedding cake.

They were adorable. Sunflowers, ladybugs and bees. And they not only looked cute, were really yummy.So with that fond memory firmly in place, I got to baking!

I had to cobble this recipe together somewhat. I took the cake part of these cupcakes from one source and the frosting part from another. Recently Jay and I discovered that we really like the Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting, much more than the regular simple buttercream.

The results? I must say, these Champagne Frosted Champagne Cupcakes rock! So festive, they are just perfect for our celebration today. The cake was very moist and the frosting sweet, but not tooth-achingly sweet. I did sprinkle a bit of vanilla sugar ever so lightly over the tops of these little gems. They were completely scrumptious!

And on that note, I’ve gotta get going. The Veuve is a calling! Cheers!

Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Swiss Buttercream Frosting

recipe from: cupcakes: Sprinkle Bakes, Frosting: Brave Tart

yield: 17 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup champagne

For the Frosting:

• 5 oz. egg whites
• 5 oz. sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• the scrapings from 1 vanilla bean
• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 2″ chunks, room temperature
• Champagne to taste- I used 3 Tablespoons

Directions:

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup champagne and 1/2 cup sour cream (mixture will fizz and bubble). Add flour and champagne mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Batter will be thick.

Fill cupcake papers with 1/4 cup level measures of batter.

Bake for 17-22 minutes.

Set aside.

For the Frosting:

Combine the egg whites, sugar salt and vanilla bean together in a clean bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of water and turn the heat on medium-low.

Whisk frequently to prevent an egg white omelet forming on the sides, but continual mixing isn’t necessary. Aim to get the mixture to at least 145°F for food safety reasons, but reaching 150°F would make for a nice margin of error. If your egg whites are at room temperature, this won’t take very long, maybe just a few minutes.

When the mixture is sufficiently hot, remove from the heat and whip on medium-high speed until the mixture has doubled in volume and turned snowy white. Continue whipping until the meringue is cool. Use your hands to feel the bowl itself, rather than simply testing the temperature of the meringue. You want it to feel perfectly cool to the touch with no trace of warmth.

Change to the paddle attachment and turn the mixer down to medium-low and begin adding the butter, one chunk at a time. If you didn’t let your meringue cool enough, this is when you’ll really regret it. By the time you’ve added all the butter, you may need to scrape down the bowl to fully incorporate any butter or meringue that’s stuck to the sides.

Finally add your champagne. Just keep adding 1/4 teaspoon at a time until it suits your tastes.

The buttercream freezes beautifully. I had about 1 cup’s worth left over.

Enjoy!

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with a Swiss Vanilla Baileys Buttercream Frosting

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daiobh! (Happy St. Patrick’s Day!) Woohoo! It’s finally here! Everyone is Irish today! These Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with a Swiss Vanilla Baileys Buttercream Frosting will definitely help get you into the proper celebratory mood!

These gorgeous little gems have everything you require in a St. Patrick’s Day food. To begin with, the cupcake base is full of rich, moist Guinness-y chocolate-y goodness. It is topped with a dreamy, creamy and fluffy Swiss Vanilla Baileys Buttercream frosting and then dusted with chopped chocolate covered pretzels. Oh, Have Mercy!

One bite will certainly make you feel like you’re celebrating the day in an awesome pub, even if you’re home in your pajamas. (perhaps not so bad of an alternative, considering some of the St. Patrick’s Day scenes I’ve been present for…just a thought!)

The original recipe which inspired my cupcake creations called for a Guinness Stout simple buttercream frosting, which I’m sure is delicious. However, as you likely already know, I just made some Baileys filled Chocolate Whoopie Pies and absolutely fell head over heels in love with the Swiss Vanilla Baileys Buttercream. So I altered the recipe to have the Baileys frosting. I must say, I am quite pleased with the results. These cupcakes are easy to make, so it’s not too late! Get to baking right away and you can still enjoy these on St. Patrick’s Day. But if you already have plans today, don’t worry. These little gems will be appreciated on whatever day they turn up! Hope everyone has fun today!

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with a Swiss Vanilla Baileys Buttercream Frosting

recipe adapted from: The Butch Bakery Cookbook by David Arrick and Allison Eats

yield: 34 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Chocolate Stout Cupcakes:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup (  3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cup Guinness, poured and settled before you measure it out
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream

For the Swiss Vanilla Baileys Buttercream Frosting:

• 5 Large Egg Whites
• 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
• 2 Cups (4 sticks) Butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, cool but not cold
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 3 Tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

For the topping:

3/4 Cup roughly chopped chocolate covered pretzels

Directions:

First, bake your cupcakes. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with muffin liners and spray lightly with non-stick spray. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt your butter and set aside to cool slightly, then add in the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the stout, then set aside to cool completely for another 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sour cream, then whisk in the cooled chocolate and butter mixture. Whisk in the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt, combining until just moistened. Fill each muffin cup with 1/4 cup of batter, so that the cups are 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cupcakes are set and a toothpick comes out clean (mine took about 24 minutes). When ready, allow to cool completely before frosting.

Now for the frosting. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites and sugar together. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water but do not let the water touch the bottom of the bowl. Heat the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved and the color is milky white, about 2-3 minutes.

Transfer the egg mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on medium-high speed (start slowly at first) until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with the paddle attachment. Add the cubed butter and beat on medium-high speed (start slowly at first) until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. If the buttercream looks like it is breaking, don’t worry, it will eventually come together.

Add the salt and Baileys Irish Cream and beat for 5 seconds to combine.

Place frosting in piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes. Top with roughly chopped chocolate covered pretzels.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Merlot Cupcakes

So let me get this straight…I can satisfy both my wine and chocolate cravings with this one little cupcake? Well, probably not satisfy them,  that’s a bit optimistic no? But hey I love the concept of the boozy cupcake and everyone knows chocolate and red wine go oh so well together. And might I point out that the wine is not only in the cupcake, but also in the frosting. Joy!!! If a little is good, a little more would be ever so much better! So I just couldn’t rest until I gave these decadent little rascals a try. Luckily an “Ultra-Friend” of mine (you know who you are ) was having a birthday, so he ended up being my guinea pig. The cupcakes were fantastic – moist, rich, spicy and decadent. Not to mention, you really could taste the Merlot!

I made the full recipe for the birthday celebration, so there were a few left over. UF (ultra-friend) reported back to me that the flavour actually improved with time (like most wine does I suppose…) and that they were even better the next day. I’m sure any full-bodied red wine would work well with this recipe, so if your UF prefers Cabernet or Zinfandel you could customize it for them. Hmmm….I think I might have just come up with an idea for some Shiraz Sinners! Stay tuned….

Chocolate Merlot Cupcakes

recipe from Life Tastes Like Food

yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 Cups sugar
• 4 Eggs
• 1 Cup Merlot
• 2 1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 Teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 6 Ounces dark chocolate, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with cupcake baking cups.

Cream the butter and sugar together, then mix in the eggs one at a time until everything is incorporated. Add the Merlot.

In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the dry ingredients together and then slowly add to the butter mixture.

Mix in the melted chocolate.

Pour batter into the cups, filling them about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Merlot Frosting

recipe also from Life Tastes Like Food

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups plus 6 Tablespoons confectioners sugar
• 9 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 9 Tablespoons butter
• 10 Tablespoons Merlot wine

Directions:

Cream butter and slowly add the confectioners sugar. If you add the sugar too quickly, your icing will have a gritty texture.

Add the cocoa powder alternating one tablespoon at a time with the Merlot. Incorporate until the mixture is nice and fluffy.

Make sure cupcakes are completely cooled, and then using a frosting tip and piping bag, pipe frosting onto the cupcakes.

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Have Mercy! My kitchen is in shambles, every dish is dirty, it is a true, honest to goodness mess. But do you know what I have now? Root Beer Float Cupcakes! Wait…let me say it slower…root beer…float…cupcakes! Yup…you heard me. I mean, I love root beer all on its lonesome. I love root beer floats even more. And well, anyone who knows me knows I have a BIG thing for cupcakes. I’ve got all three awesome things wrapped into just one in these little dickens. They even have home-made hot fudge sauce on top. Good Lord! Now, I must admit, these little guys were not easy to make. There were a bunch of steps, and as I mentioned, LOTS of dirty dishes. Oh well, no pain, no gain – hopefully I’m not talking about weight here, though these little gems are amazingly decadent!  It didn’t help matters that I doubled the recipe. I thought Root Beer Float Cupcakes would be perfect for a 4th of July cookout I was attending and wanted to make sure there were enough to go around.

Root Beer seems pretty “American” to me and the “Float” part is quite nostalgic. Everyone loves cupcakes, a very portable and picnic-friendly dessert. So I got to work on these. and I worked…and I worked…In all honesty, I must admit, there is nothing really hard here. Just a bit time-consuming. But it paid off in the end. The cupcakes looked fantastic and got rave reviews at the cookout. So, when you’ve got a bit of time on your hands, and a hankering for a root beer flavoured delectible…I’ve got just the thing for you!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

makes 12 cupcakes

recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

• 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons root beer concentrate
• 1/3 cup root beer
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 4-5 Root Beer Barrel hard candies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add cream, butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Stir in sour cream. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Add root beer concentrate and root beer. Mix until batter is smooth. Line a muffin tin with liners and using a heaping 1/4 cup measure, add batter to each cup. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool before frosting.

Place root beer barrel candies in food processor and pulse until the candies are finely ground. Set aside.

Vanilla and Root Beer Frosting

• 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon root beer extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter until smooth. On low-speed, add powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time. I know, I know, this is tedious but will result in a frosty that is smooth and creamy, not grainy and you will likely not need all 4 cups of the powdered sugar to reach appropriate frosting consistency, if you add the sugar in slowly like this. Increase speed to bring the frosting together. Add milk and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth. Remove almost all of the vanilla frosting, leaving behind about 1/3-1/2 cup in the mixer. Set vanilla frosting aside. Add root beer extract to remaining frosting in the bowl and beat until it comes together.

Prep two pastry bags (or you can simply use spoons) and fill one with vanilla frosting and the other with root beer frosting. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, 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. Pipe the root beer frosting into the holes, filling each cupcake to the top. Then use the vanilla frosting filled pastry bag to finish frosting the cupcakes. Sprinkle pulverized root beer barrel candy over the top of each cupcake.

Hot Fudge Sauce

ingredients:

• 1 Cup sugar
• 1 Cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 Cup scalding milk
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine sugar, cocoa, salt and flour in a bowl over a double boiler. Bring milk to a boil. Gradually add hot milk to sugar mixture. Stir constantly until mixture thickens.

Once it has reached your desired thickness – I like mine pretty fudgy, so I probably cooked it for about 15 -20 minutes or so – remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Store in refrigerator.

*This recipe makes a good deal of sauce, which will keep well in the fridge.You will have lots left over for ice cream topping, or actual root beer floats in the future!

Fill another pastry bag with hot fudge sauce, which has reached room temperature,  and pipe a large dollop of fudge on the very top center of each cupcake. The fudge will flow down the sides a bit. Place maraschino cherry on top of each cake.

Enjoy!

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.