Oh my gawd! It’s here, it’s here!! Today is St. Patrick’s Day!!! And as per usual, my last post of my St. Patrick’s Day blog-a-thon features cupcakes. And today I’ve got not just any old cupcake…no siree! What I’ve got here are Irish Coffee Cupcakes. Can’t get much more St. Patrick’s Day than that!
So obviously, I’m giving you that classic Irish cocktail in cupcake form. It is surprising that the Irish Coffee is fairly young when one considers coffee cocktails. It was invented in 1943. Way back in 19th century France, folks were already quaffing “Glorias” which were a mixture of “coffee & strong spirits”. And Viennese Coffee Houses had been serving Pharisäers, sweetened coffee, rum & whipped cream, for quite some time at that point. So fast forward to 1943, Joe Sheridan was the chef at Foynes Port in Limerick when he invented this warming drink and served it to a gaggle of cold and wet tourists. Eventually Stanton Delaplane, an american travel writer, encountered the drink at Shannon airport and brought it back to the US, writing about it extensively. And what do you know, it caught on. Folks loved it then, and still love it now.
The classic Irish Coffee consists of hot coffee, Irish Whiskey and sugar and is topped with thick cream which is floated on top of the coffee/whiskey mixture. Soothing, warming and utterly decadent, you just can’t go wrong with this elixir. Serve it on a luxurious holiday morning or as a lovely nightcap – perfect every time. And these cupcakes…yeah, they’re worthy of their namesake.
Tender, moist coffee flavored chocolate cake – filled with a creamy dark and decadent whiskey chocolate ganache and then frosted with a light and airy Irish Whiskey Whipped Cream and topped with a chocolate covered espresso bean…
Dear Lawd! This is not only perfect on St. Patrick’s Day, but awesome year round. So what are you waiting for, you can have these ready for tonight’s shindig in two shakes of a lambs tail.
Now me, I’ve gotta get going…my blogging is done for a while. I’ve got some Patrick’s Day festivities to attend to. So see you in a week or so, Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daiobh (Happy St. Patrick’s Day)!
Irish Coffee Cupcakes
Recipe from: Wife in Progress
Ingredients:
For the Cakes:
- 3/4 cups Guinness
- 1/4 cup strong black coffee (or King Arthur Espresso Powder works well here)
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup sour cream
For the Whiskey Ganache Filling:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
- 1 Tablespoon Jameson Whiskey
For the Whipped Cream Topping:
- 1 small carton of whipping cream
- 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Irish Whiskey
Espresso powder (I used King Arthur Espresso Powder, but you could also use cocoa powder or even freshly ground nutmeg in a pinch) and chocolate covered espresso beans to garnish
Directions:
For the Cakes:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C)
Line 2 cupcake tins with liners.
In a large saucepan heat Guinness, coffee and butter together until it comes to a gentle simmer.
Add cocoa powder while whisking continuously to avoid lumps. Mix until smooth. Place in refrigerator to cool.
Place flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in bowl. Set aside
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs vanilla and sour cream.
Once the Guinness/cocoa mixture has cooled, add it to the egg/sour cream mixture. Mix until combined.
Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, mixing on low speed until just combined.
Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup scoop, fill the lined cupcake tins.
Bake for 25 minutes
Cool completely on wire rack.
For the Whiskey Ganache:
Heat heavy cream until just shy of boiling.
Remove from heat and pour over chocolate. Do not mix. Cover with lid and let sit for 5 minutes.
Stir the mixture starting from the inside and working to the edges. Add the whiskey and mix until incorporated
Let sit for 10 minutes or so at room temperature. The ganache should thicken a bit. You can pop it into the fridge for a bit to speed this process up.
For the Whipped Cream Frosting:
Pour cream and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk until Cream forms stiff peaks. Add Irish Whiskey to taste.
For Assembly:
Once the cupcakes have cooled, cut out the center of each cake with an apple corer, knife or special cupcake corer tool, taking care not to cut all the way through the cake.
Place the whiskey ganache into a pastry bag and pipe into the cored cupcake to fill.
Spoon the whipped whiskey filling into a pastry bag and frost cupcakes.
Dust with espresso powder and top with chocolate covered bean.
Lea & Jay 