Even though St. Patrick’s Day is over, it’s time again to whip out the Guinness, Baileys and Jameson’s whiskey and turn them into delicious cupcakes!
The Irish Car Bomb is a well-known (although not very tactfully named) drink consisting of a layered shot of Jameson’s and Bailey’s dropped in a ¾ full glass of Guinness and chugged like crazy. (Don’t let it sit; curdled Bailey’s in your beer is not an appetizing sight.)
Well, here is an easy recipe to render that tasty cocktail in cupcake form: Chocolate Guinness cupcakes, filled with whiskey chocolate ganache and topped with Baileys whipped cream. Yum!
Make the chocolate Guinness cupcakes
I was a cheater and used chocolate cake mix, since it was on sale for 99 cents. But this same theory works for those who want to make it from scratch. Follow the recipe, simply replacing half the water called for with Guinness instead. Let cupcakes cool for 10 minutes.
Make the whiskey chocolate ganache
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (Do not use semi-sweet chocolate chips! That would be too sweet.)
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon Irish whiskey (you can reduce this amount or eliminate it altogether, according to taste)
Heat the cream in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until it is warm to the touch but not yet boiling. Pour warm cream over the chocolate and stir until chocolate melts and smooths out. Add the butter and mix that in until smooth. Then stir in the whiskey. Put in refrigerator while you prep the cupcakes to be filled.
Fill cupcakes with the ganache
Using an apple corer, cut the center out of the cupcakes. (Go about 2/3 of the way down, so it is filled but remains inside the cupcake) You can also use a melon baller or 1″ cookie cutter, but an apple corer is much easier and cleaner, I’ve found.
Put the ganache in a frosting piping bag or a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. Squeeze the ganache into the holes in the cupcake and then plug them back up with cupcake “core” you removed.
Make Bailey’s whipped cream topping
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon Bailey’s Irish cream (you can reduce this amount or eliminate it altogether according to taste)
If you have a cream charger, just pour all ingredients into the dispenser, charge and then use. Otherwise, put ingredients in a bowl and whip until you achieve the consistency desired for whipped cream. Put them on top of the cupcakes, and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from/inspired by Smitten Kitchen
