Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

I have never been into taking “shots” but I absolutely love a good Irish car bomb. There is just something about a dark and rich Guinness with sweet and creamy Baileys and the Irish Whisky that gives it a good strong kick at the end. I love it so much that I make these cupcakes every year around St. Patricks Day! And any other excuse I have, honestly you don’t need to wait till March to make them. These are always a hit, not only because it incorporates alcohol in every layer of the cupcake, but because it gives you an excuse to drink a couple of car bombs while you’re waiting for the cupcakes to bake. Don’t forget there is a delicious whisky ganache in the center of the cupcake that no one expects until they bite into it. What a bonus!

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup dark coco powder

1.5 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter

1 cup Guinness

1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk well and set aside. Heat the Guinness and butter over the stove.

In mixer add the dry ingredients and add the beer and butter mixture, mix well. Add the yogurt or sour cream and eggs. Mix well scraping the sides of the bowl. Place into cupcake liners and bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Whisky Ganache:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

3/4 cup chocolate chips

2 tablespoons Irish whisky

In a small sauce pan heat 1/2 cup of heavy cream to a quick simmer. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and Irish whisky until smooth and well combined, set aside.

Baileys Frosting:

2 sticks of softened butter

6 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup of Baileys

Add butter to a mixer or mix with a hand blender ear until fluffy, about 3 minutes, add 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar. Mix well and scrape down with a spatula. Slowly add the Baileys and remainder of the powdered sugar and whip until light and fluffy.

Once you have baked the cupcakes and they have cooled you will need to dig out a tiny hole in the center to fill them with the ganache. Take a large frosting tip and press into the center of the cupcake, when you pull it out in will take a piece of the cupcake and pull out a piece of cake leaving a small hole. Once you have done that to all the cupcakes pour the ganache into the cupcake.

Once all the cup cakes are filled take your favorite icing tip and fill a frosting bag and decorate the cupcakes with the Baileys frosting however you’d like.