Guinness Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Frosting

Dark Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream 

I am not a beer drinker.  Some of you may feel this is a shameful confession, indicative of a suspect character.  It is what it is, I suppose.

On St. Patrick's Day, I made corned beef & cabbage for a friend.  My version calls for a bottle of Guinness.  Publix wouldn't sell me a single, so I purchased a 6-pack.  Allrightythen.  What to do with 5 extra bottles of Guinness???  It's great in beer cheese soup, of course, but I live in the deep South and I tend to reserve heavy soups for winter.  I consulted my friend Google for inspiration.

Cupcakes.  CUPCAKES!  Dark chocolate cupcakes, infused with Guinness, topped with a Bailey's buttercream frosting, perhaps?  YES MA'AM. 

There are a variety of recipes online for cupcakes using Guinness, but many of them are topped with a cream cheese frosting, use light cocoa, or are just otherwise too sweet for my tastes.  I wanted the yeastiness of the stout and the bitterness of dark chocolate to balance out the sweetness of the delicate Bailey's buttercream.  Sweet, but not too sweet.

Dark Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Frosting

Recipe makes 36+ standard size cupcakes.  Cupcakes freeze well, frosted or unfrosted.

Cupcakes

Dry Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups raw sugar 

1 tsp. baking soda

1 Tb. baking powder

3/4 cup dark chocolate unsweetened baking cocoa powder

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for garnish

Wet Ingredients

1 stick salted butter

1 bottle (12 ounces) Extra Stout Guinness

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

Ingredients,  except for sea salt and sour cream

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees or convection oven to 325 degrees.

In medium saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter over low heat.

While butter melts, assemble dry ingredients.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients, OMITTING the chocolate chips.  Whisk until well-blended and set aside. (NOTE: I use the Pampered Chef large batter bowl).

• Line muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.

Remove melted butter from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Stir in stout.

In a small bowl, stir eggs into sour cream to prevent the sour cream from curdling when you add it to the stout.  (NOTE: There is nothing wrong with the sour cream in this picture.  I used the same measuring cup for the cocoa to save on dishes).

Pour egg & sour cream mixture into the stout and butter.

Whisk until incorporated.

Pour wet ingredients into dry.

Beat batter by hand until smooth and somewhat bubbly.  The leavening agents and stout should be producing bubbles that will help the cupcakes rise properly.

Stir in chocolate chips, blending well.

Fill cupcakes about 2/3 full.  The large Pampered Chef scoop is perfect for standard size cupcakes; the medium scoop is perfect for mini-cupcakes.

Bake cupcakes for 20 to 25 minutes, or until nicely domed and a toothpick inserted in the largest cupcake in the pan comes out clean.  Mini cupcakes will take 15 minutes or so.

Cool in pans at least 10 minutes.  Cupcakes are very tender and will tear apart if you try to remove them too soon, so be patient.  It's worth it, I promise.  Cool completely on wire racks.

Bailey's Buttercream Frosting
Recipe makes enough to lightly frost 36 cupcakes.  If you like more frosting, double the recipe.  If you double it, only put about half of the frosting in the bag at a time or it will be hard to handle.  Left over frosting may be frozen in the piping bag.  Put the whole business into another gallon sized freezer bag, remove the air, seal and freeze. 

2 sticks salted butter

16 ounces powdered sugar

3 Tb. Bailey's Irish Cream

3 Tb. heavy whipping cream 

pinch sea salt

My stand mixer is demon possessed, so I typically blend softened butter and powdered sugar by hand before mixing.  If your stand mixer behaves well, skip this step.

Cream together softened butter and confectioner's sugar in a stand mixer.  Add in Bailey's and cream and beat well.  Adjust thickness of frosting by adding additional cream, one tablespoon at a time.  You'll want the buttercream to be soft for easy piping.  Add in salt and blend well.

Snip the corner off a gallon sized freezer weight ziploc bag and fit it with a large star tip (1M) and coupler.  This tip will make the frosting look like soft serve ice cream.

Use a glass to stabilize the bag while you fill it with frosting.  Put the bag in, tip first, and fold the edges back.  This will help you keep the frosting on the inside of the bag.

When there is enough frosting in the bag that it will sit upright, remove it from the glass and finish filling the bag.

Pipe buttercream onto completely cooled cupcakes.  Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top.  If you are going to transport the cupcakes, put the unfrosted cupcakes into the container and frost them in place.  You'll be less likely to mess up your pretty swirls. 


ENJOY!