Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Irish Cream Icing
Guinness-spiked chocolate cupcakes piped with Irish cream buttercream and finished with a chocolate ganache drizzle — the cupcakes that vanish first at every party I bring them to.
- Prep Time
- 15 min
- Cook Time
- 23 min
- Total Time
- 38 min
- Servings
- About 36 cupcakes
I keep running out of different liquors around the house, and it's entirely because I'm using them in baked goods. Every time I'm at the liquor store, I end up chatting with the employees about my latest concoction — cakes, cupcakes, truffles, cheesecakes, you name it. It never gets old.
I've made these several times for Krafty Draft events, and they disappear ridiculously fast once people realize what's inside. At one gathering, a guy patted his belly, grinned, and told me he'd eaten six of them. I think that means he liked them.
Baking with alcohol isn't anything new, and there's a good reason for it — the alcohol cooks off during baking, but the flavor sticks around. The icing on top is a different story, since it's not baked, so there's a small amount of real Irish cream in every bite. Consider that your permission to have a cocktail for yourself while you're at it.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 box dark chocolate fudge cake mix (Duncan Hines)
- 1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup Guinness beer
- 4 eggs
- 8 oz. sour cream
- 10 oz. bag mini chocolate chips
For the Irish Cream Icing
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup Irish cream liquor
For the Chocolate Ganache
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- 1Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a standing mixer or mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, oil, Guinness, eggs, and sour cream, and beat at medium speed for 1-2 minutes.
- 2Stir in the mini chocolate chips, then use a cookie scoop to distribute the batter evenly into a lined muffin pan.
- 3Bake for 22-24 minutes. Let cupcakes sit in the pan for 1-2 minutes before removing to cool completely on cooling racks.
- 4For the icing: beat the butter in a mixing bowl at medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until smooth. Add the confectioners sugar, vanilla, and Irish cream liquor, and continue mixing for another 2-3 minutes.
- 5Pipe the icing onto the cooled cupcakes using a pastry bag and cake decorating tip.
- 6For the ganache: heat the heavy cream for 45-60 seconds, just until bubbling. Pour over the chocolate chips and whisk together until melted.
- 7Drizzle the ganache over the iced cupcakes with a squeeze bottle.
