Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, Revisited

Ok, so I know that technically this is not a new recipe because I posted a recipe for Irish Car Bomb cupcakes last year around this same time.  But with St. Patty's Day coming up, I felt this recipe warranted a revisit because during my last attempt I skipped the Irish whiskey chocolate ganache filling.  This time I invested in a bottle of Jameson and I am so glad that I did.  It really took these boozy treats to a whole new level of deliciousness.  It's a bit of extra effort, but I promise you that it is well worth it! 

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

(This recipe will make approximately 2 dozen cupcakes.)

1 cup Guinness
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Jameson Dark Chocolate Ganache Filling

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp Jameson (or other Irish whiskey)

Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting

1 lb. box confectioner's (powdered) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup Bailey's (or other Irish Cream)


Preparing the cupcakes: 

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Heat one cup of Guinness and 2 sticks of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat:

After the butter has melted, add 3/4 cup of cocoa powder and whisk to mix completely.  Allow mixture to cool slightly.

 

While the Guinness, butter, and cocoa mixture is cooling, beat eggs and sour cream together with an electric mixer until smooth:

 

Add stout-butter-cocoa mixture to the egg-sour cream mixture and combine until smooth:

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl and add to stout-butter-cocoa-egg-sour cream mixture in three additions, stirring well to combine after each addition.

Divide batter among 24 lined cupcake tins, filling each tin approximately 3/4 full:

 Bake cupcakes for 17 minutes (or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean):

Transfer cupcakes to wire racks and cool completely.  Once cupcakes have cooled, use a grapefruit spoon (or butter knife) to scoop out a ring in the middle 1/3 of the cupcakes, like so:

Preparing the whiskey dark chocolate ganache filling:

Heat the heavy whipping cream over medium-low heat until just simmering.  Pour the chocolate chips into a large bowl and then pour the heated cream over them.  Whisk until the chocolate is melted, then add the butter and whiskey and mix until the butter has melted and the whiskey and butter have become fully incorporated.

Pour the ganache filling into a large ziploc bag and carefully cut off one corner of the bag (or use a piping bag fitted with the appropriate tip).  Pipe the filling into the center of the cupcakes:

Allow ganache to cool completely before attempting to frost the cupcakes (this will take at least one hour, or you can let them cool overnight and frost them the next day).

Preparing the Irish cream frosting:

In electric mixer using whisk attachment, whisk 1 stick room temperature butter with box of powdered sugar until just smooth.  Add vanilla extract and Irish Cream.  The frosting should be slightly stiff, but creamy, like so:

Spread (or pipe) the frosting onto the cupcakes:

If you cut them in half, you'll see the delicious layers side by side:

Enjoy!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

When someone first told me about Irish Car Bomb cupcakes, my reaction was, "How in the hell could something so amazing exist without my knowledge?"  My second reaction was: I need to find an excuse to make those delicious treats.

With St. Patty's Day almost upon us and it being my favorite Irishman's 31st birthday and all, I decided to give them a whirl.  I got my cake recipe from Smitten Kitchen (which seems to unanimously be the favorite car bomb cupcake recipe of everyone on the internet), but used my own frosting recipe and omitted the chocolate whiskey ganache filling in favor of piping some of the Irish cream frosting mixture inside of the cupcakes instead.

I hope you enjoy these perfect little desserts as much as we did!

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

(This recipe makes 2 dozen cupcakes.)

1 cup Guinness
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Irish Cream Frosting

1 lb. box confectioner's (powdered) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup Irish Cream

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Add 1 cup of Guinness:

and 2 sticks unsalted butter to small saucepan over medium heat:

After butter has melted, add 3/4 cup of cocoa powder and whisk to mix completely.  Allow mixture to cool slightly.

While the Guinness, butter, and cocoa mixture is cooling, beat eggs and sour cream together with an electric mixer until smooth:

Add stout-butter-cocoa mixture to the egg-sour cream mixture and combine until smooth:

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl and add to stout-butter-cocoa-egg-sour cream mixture in three additions, stirring well to combine after each addition.

Divide batter among 24 lined cupcake tins, filling each tin approximately 3/4 full:

Bake cupcakes for 17 minutes (or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean):

Transfer cupcakes to wire rack and cool completely.


For the Irish Cream Frosting:

In electric mixer using whisk attachment, whisk 1 stick room temperature butter with box of powdered sugar until just smooth.  Add vanilla extract and Irish Cream - I had this bottle of Carolans lying around from a night of Copper Camel drinking (if you've never had a Copper Camel, make one - they're delicious), but of course Bailey's would work just as well:

Stir to combine.  Frosting should be slightly stiff, but creamy, like so:

(If the frosting is too liquidy/not stiff enough, add more powdered sugar.  If the frosting is to firm, add more Irish Cream.)

Either simply top the cupcakes with the frosting, or use a knife to cut a hole in the center of the cupcakes and pipe some frosting in.

Southern Comfort

A glimpse of the finished product to whet your appetite.

I have developed a borderline obsession with red velvet cupcakes. This may seem strange, seeing as they are a traditionally southern food item (who can forget the red velvet armadillo wedding cake in Steel Magnolias?) and Southern California is about as southern as I get. If you have not yet tried one, they are the ultimate comfort food. The first time I ever had a red velvet cupcake (or red velvet cake of any sort) was just under a year ago at a French bakery here in Salt Lake City called Tulie Bakery. This cupcake was nothing short of mind blowing - a fluffy, deep red cake topped with a rich cream cheese frosting. Thus started my obsession. I went back on several occasions to buy these cupcakes, the most recent purchase being in April. Then I got busy, traveled, etc. and nearly forgot all about these tasty little cupcakes.

A few weeks ago I headed back to the bakery, only to find yellow and chocolate cupcakes in the bakery case, but no red velvet in sight. I asked the cashier if they had sold out and she responded that they had never had such thing as a red velvet cupcake at this bakery and she would know if they did because she had been working there for quite some time. I responded that she clearly had not, since I had purchased one in April (which is after all only three months ago). So she asked the baker if they were going to have any soon and she said no but that I was free to place a special order for some if I wanted. At $3 per cupcake and a one dozen cupcake minimum for special orders, I did not. And so I went on a quest to find a red velvet cupcake recipe of my own. But where to even begin since, not being from the south, it's not as though I know anyone who makes these on a regular basis.

After searching high and low through cookbooks and scouring several websites, I came across the following cupcake and frosting recipes, which I have to say are mighty tasty (the cake may not be quite as rich as the one I remember from the bakery, but the icing is a dead on match). And for me the icing on the cupcake (so to speak) of this experience was that I got to use my brand new stand alone mixer for the first time. (As a fan of the Food Network I have been dying to own one for years now!) I felt like the Barefoot Contessa. (Is it just me or is every show on the Food Network secretly sponsored by KitchenAid? Every chef on there has one of these mixers even though they cost more than my rent!) I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do:

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

2 eggs

2 Tbsps cocoa powder

2 oz water

2 oz red food coloring

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with muffin tins. In electric mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time (on medium low speed) and blend well. Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring and add to the butter mixture. Sift flour and salt together into this mixture. One at a time, add the milk, vanilla, and water (mixing on low speed).

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and baking soda. Fold it into the cake batter. Pour the batter into the cupcake tins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, take the cupcakes out of the pans and place on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe courtesy of Sprinkles Cupcakes)

8 oz cream cheese (cold)

1 stick unsalted butter

1/8 tsp salt

3 3/4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar

In electric mixer bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and salt one medium low speed for 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add the sugar gradually and in batches, stirring until completely incorporated before adding the next batch of sugar. Add the vanilla and beat until just incorporated.