Bittersweet Guinness Cupcakes Recipes

GUINNESS® CUPCAKES WITH GUINNESS® FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 12-cup muffin tins or line cups with paper liners.
• Whisk stout beer, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract together in a bowl until evenly blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in sour cream. Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Gradually mix the flour mixture ingredients into the beer mixture.
• Spoon cupcake batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cupcakes are risen and set in the middle but still soft and tender, about 25 minutes. Cool in the tins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Whisk cocoa powder and stout beer together in a bowl. Beat in butter and cream cheese using an electric mixer until well combined. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, until frosting has desired sweetness. Spread or pipe frosting onto cooked cupcakes.

GUINNESS CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH MOCHA GUINNESS BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring the Guinness to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer until reduced down to 2/3 cup, about 20 minutes. Set 1/2 cup aside to cool for 10-15 minutes before using in the cupcake batter. While it's warm, mix the rest of the reduced Guinness (about 2-2.5 Tablespoons) with the 2 teaspoons of espresso powder used in the frosting. Set this mixture aside for step 5. You can do this step 1 day ahead of time if needed. Refrigerate overnight. Bring reduced beer to room temperature before using in both the cupcake batter and frosting.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with 4 liners - this recipe makes about 16 cupcakes. Set aside.
• Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla together until completely smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the 1/2 cup (120ml) reduced Guinness, then whisk until *just* combined. Do not over-mix. The batter will be on the thinner side.
• Pour or spoon the batter into the liners. Fill each 2/3 full to avoid spilling over the sides or sinking. Bake for 19-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't over-bake, which will dry out the cupcakes. Begin checking for doneness at 19 minutes. For around 36 mini cupcakes, bake for about 11-13 minutes, same oven temperature. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
• Have the Guinness/espresso powder mixture from step 1 handy. In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, milk, reduced Guinness/espresso powder mixture, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat on low for 30 seconds then increase to high speed and beat until combined and creamy. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if desired. (I always add 1/8 teaspoon.) If you want the frosting a little thicker, add 1/4 cup (30g) of confectioners' sugar.
• Frost cooled cupcakes. I piped a basic tall swirl using Ateco 849 piping tip.
• Leftover cupcakes keep well covered tightly in the refrigerator for 3 days.

BITTERSWEET GUINNESS CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
• Combine cake mix, Guinness, oil and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Beat on low speed for one minute. Scrape bowl down and beat for 2 minutes on medium.
• Stir in chocolate, and pour batter into prepared muffin cups.
• Bake for 18-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Let cool completely and frost with cream cheese frosting (recipe follows). Keep refrigerated.
• Cream cheese frosting:.
• Beat all ingredients together until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes.

GUINNESS CUPCAKES WITH BAILEY'S FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Grease 24-30 cupcake cups, or fill with paper liners.
• In a saucepan, heat the butter, Guinness, cocoa and brown sugar, whisking often, until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Into the work bowl of a stand mixer (or into a large mixing bowl), sift together salt, flour, white sugar and baking soda. Add the cooled Guinness mixture and beat on medium for 1 minute. Add eggs and sour cream and beat on medium for 2 minutes or until smooth.
• Divide the batter evenly amongst the cupcake cups. Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then remove and transfer to a cooling rack until completely cooled.
• Meanwhile, in (cleaned) work bowl of stand mixer, cream butter until very light and fluffy. Add salt, and slowly add confectioners sugar. Do not run the mixer above low, or the sugar will spray all over your kitchen. Add a couple of spoonsful at a time until it has all been absorbed into the butter. Add Bailey's and milk until spreadable consistency is achieved.
• Frost cupcakes with Bailey's frosting. Sprinkle with green jimmies.

GUINNESS CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cake:.
• Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius (325 Farenheit).
• In a pan, on the hob on a low heat, melt butter and Guinness together.
• Keep pan on heat, so long as the mixture isn't bubbling too much and add cocoa and sugar.
• Beat the sour cream with the egg and the vanilla. This will look like you've scrambled the egg, don't be concerned.
• Stir sour cream and egg mixture into the pan.
• Combine baking soda and sifted flour in a separate bowl. It's important to do this because the baking soda is going to react with the wet ingredients.
• Stir in the flour/baking soda mix to the mix in the pan. You will get what looks like brownie mix. Dark in colour, brilliant smelling.
• Pour this mix into cupcake cases in a cupcake tin. (For British people, this recipe makes what we would think of as muffin sized cakes, so use muffin cases and a muffin tin) Aim to fill the cakes two/thirds of the case, but you'll probably go over.
• Put in the oven for approximately 25 minutes. They will go from not ready to ready very quickly, so be careful not to burn them.
• Cool on a wire rack.
• For the icing:.
• Beat together the icing sugar and the butter. I use my hands for this, but a paddle mix would do just as well. The mix should look ever so slightly yellow in colour when you're done.
• Add the cream cheese and stir in all the sugar/butter mix.
• Beat until stiff.
• This makes a very stiff icing and I pipe it onto the cupcakes, but if you use a warm spatula you should be able to get it moving enough to coat the cupcakes from that. The stiffer the icing is, the more like a little pint of Guinness your cupcake will look.

CHOCOLATE BEER CUPCAKES WITH WHISKEY FILLING AND IRISH CREAM ICING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
• Bring Irish stout beer and 1 cup butter to a boil in a saucepan and set aside until butter has melted, stirring occasionally. Mix in cocoa powder until smooth.
• Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
• Beat eggs with sour cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low until well combined. Slowly beat in the beer mixture, then the flour mixture; beat until the batter is smooth.
• Divide batter between the prepared cupcake cups, filling each cup about 2/3 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 17 minutes.
• Cool the cupcakes completely. Cut cores out of the center of each cupcake with a sharp paring knife. Discard cores.
• Bring cream to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat; stir in bittersweet chocolate until melted.
• Mix in 2 tablespoons butter and Irish whiskey until butter is melted; let mixture cool to room temperature. Filling will thicken as it cools.
• Spoon the filling into the cored cupcakes.
• For frosting, whip 1/2 cup butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Set mixer to low speed and slowly beat in confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, until frosting is smooth and spreadable. Beat in the Irish cream liqueur; adjust thickness of frosting with more confectioners' sugar if needed.
• Spread frosting on filled cupcakes.