Creamy Irish Stout Cupcakes Recipes

CREAMY IRISH STOUT CUPCAKES

Steps:

• 1. Special equipment: 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer and a piping bag (though a plastic bag with the corner snipped off will also work) (I used a knife and did something similar to the cone method where. I just made a circle in the cupcake. The cupcake is so moist that the section just comes right out.)
• 2. Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
• 3. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.
• 4. Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and stir until combined.
• 5. Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom - aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your "tasters". Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
• 6. Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.
• 7. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn't, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar. Ice the cupcakes...

STOUT & IRISH CREAM CUPCAKES

Steps:

• 1. To Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
• 2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.
• 3. To Make the Whiskey Ganache Filling: Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.
• 4. To Fill the Cupcakes: Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down. Transfer the ganache to a piping back with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
• 5. To Make the Baileys Frosting: Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.
• 6. Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.

STOUT CUPCAKES WITH IRISH CREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the upper and lower thirds. Fill two 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners.
• In a saucepan, heat the butter, stout, cocoa powder, and brown sugar, whisking often, until the butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt.
• Add cooled Guinness mixture and beat on medium for 1 minute.
• Add eggs and sour cream and beat on medium for 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth.
• Divide batter evenly among cupcake liners, filling about ⅔ full. Transfer to oven and bake 20-25 minutes, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean.
• Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a cooling rack until completely cooled.
• Meanwhile, in bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until light and fluffy.
• Add salt, and slowly add confectioners sugar.
• Add 6 tablespoons Irish Cream and milk, adding more milk as necessary, until spreadable consistency is achieved.
• Transfer to a piping bag or ziplock fitted with a star tip and wash stand mixer bowl.
• In bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip cream until stiff peaks form.
• Add remaining 2 tablespoons Irish cream and a pinch of salt and whisk to combine.
• Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch pastry tip.
• Insert tip into tops of cupcakes and divide whipped cream mixture evenly among cupcakes, dispensing approximately 1 tablespoon per cupcake.
• Frost tops of cupcakes with Bailey's frosting and sprinkle with green sprinkles. Serve.

CHOCOLATE STOUT AND IRISH CREAM LIQUEUR CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a cupcake or muffin pan with 24 regular-size cupcake liners.
• Place the stout and butter in a medium-size saucepan and whisk together on medium heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat. Sift the cocoa powder into a medium-size bowl and add the sugar. Slowly whisk into the stout mixture. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and lightly whisk until smooth. Add this mixture to the saucepan and whisk thoroughly (it may appear lumpy). Sift the flour and baking soda together in another small bowl and then add it to the saucepan, mixing a final time until the color is even.
• Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full with batter and bake until the cakes spring back after touching, about 27 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in their pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
• To assemble: Pipe the frosting onto cooled cupcakes using a large plain tip. Dust with cocoa powder if preferred.
• Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric stand mixer until pale. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the Irish liqueur in a steady stream. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and continue beating until a creamy consistency is achieved.