Irish Cake Bomb Cupcakes

Although this blog is for fitness and living the healthiest of lifestyles, sometimes we have slip-ups which I put in the category of MADNESS. This post is one of those slip-ups that I can't help but share. Being that it is St. Patrick's Day, I thought it was fitting to post this today.

 I have an absolute weakness for sweets; cakes, pies, cookies... You name it and I usually won't hesitate to have a serving--and sometimes seconds! I was invited to a party today and needed to bring some kind of dessert. My first thought was my friend Bonnie of Owl Have a Cupcake. Unfortunately she wasn't making her yummy cupcakes for the holiday so I had to come up with something on my own. The ultimate of St. Patty's Day desserts...Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes.

For those who don't know, an Irish Car Bomb is a wonderful Alcoholic Beverage consisting of Guinness, Jameson Irish Whiskey and Bailey's Irish Cream. You pour two shots, one of the whiskey and the other of the Bailey's. You then add the whiskey to the Guinness and then quickly pour the Baileys in and CHUG! You HAVE to drink it fast as the Baileys will curdle in the beer AND YOU DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN! It's deliciously smooth and tasty and will leave you wondering why you have never had it before.

With ALL that being said, I scoured the Internet for the best recipes and found this one for the cupcakes from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen's blog. The cupcakes turned out light and fluffy and so yummy! I combined the cupcake recipe with a modified recipe from The Brown-eyed Baker for Chocolate Whiskey Ganache (I added MORE whiskey). I modified my grandmothers Butter cream Icing recipe to include Baileys.

I'm not a baker, but love to try and recreate what the Pros make, and I think I came pretty close to perfection on these!

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1½ sticks butter, room temperature
• 1¼ cups white granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 12 ounce Guinness stout
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Whiskey Ganache Filling:

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon Irish whiskey

For the Baileys Frosting:

• 1/4 cup powdered milk
• 1/2 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
• 1/2 Cup Shortening or butter
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 3/4 lb Powdered Sugar
• 1 Egg White
• Almond or Vanilla Extract (to taste)
  

Instructions:

For the cupcakes:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcakes tins with cupcake wrappers.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.
Using your stand mixer or hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and airy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined. Mix in the vanilla extract.
Starting and ending with the flour mixture, alternating between the Guinness mix in parts, making sure not to over mix the batter.
Scrape down the sides and bottoms of the mixing bowl, scoop into the prepared tins and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let cool completely before frosting.

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.

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.

To Make the Baileys Frosting:
Dissolve powdered milk in Bailey's. Whip in mixer using whisk attachment until creamy.  Add ingredients one by one in order listed. Beat well until fluffy.  Add more extract to taste 1/2 tsp at a time.

 

I have to say, these really did turn out FANTASTIC, and I think they will become a staple for any St. Patrick's Day celebration!