Saturday, March 16, 2013

Irish Triple-Threat Cupcakes




Guinness, Jameson and Bailey’s Irish Cream – definitely a triple threat….often known as an Irish Car Bomb.  I decided to re-title this recipe though as the blog I pulled it from ended up with hundreds of comments about how offensive the name was as well as the history of car bombs in Ireland and the IRA….let’s avoid all that, alright people??  This is a cupcake recipe, and a damn good one, even if you don’t like some of those ingredients on their own.  Trust me.

If you’re wary of making these because of the alcohol, at the very least, use the chocolate cake recipe.  The Guinness provides a great depth of flavor and an extra moistness to the cake.  I’ll definitely be adding this to my basic chocolate cake recipe collection.  Here’s how you do this, with tutorial…

Ingredients (makes 24)

Cupcakes:
1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 cups AP flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
2 eggs
⅔ cup sour cream

Whiskey Ganache Filling:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
⅔ cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
2 tsp Irish whiskey

Bailey’s Frosting:
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
6 Tbsp Bailey’s Irish Cream
1 tsp vanilla extract (my addition to cut the Bailey’s a little)

Instructions

Cupcakes: 
Preheat oven to 350º.  Line cupcake pans with 24 liners.  Bring Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.  Turn off heat and let cool slightly.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl to combine.  Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed in a large bowl until combined.  Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture (slowly to temper the eggs if chocolate is still warm).  On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat briefly, then use a rubber scraper and fold the batter until totally combined.  Divide among cupcake liners and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 17 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

Whiskey Ganache Filling:
Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heat-proof bowl.  Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate.  Let it sit for a minute, then using a rubber scraper, slowly stir until smooth.  Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.  Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.

Bailey’s Frosting:
Using the whisk attachment of a mixer, whip the butter on medium speed for 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.  Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all is incorporated.  Add the Bailey’s and vanilla (if using) and increase the speed to medium-high, whipping for another 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.

And the How To….

Step 1:  Cut a hole in a box.  HA – kidding!  But really, using a 1 inch cookie cutter (or paring knife if my case) cut out the center of the cupcake, going about two-thirds down into it.


Step 2:  Fill a piping bag with the ganache and using a regular round tip, pipe the ganache into the cupcakes, filling just to the top.


Step 3:  Using a piping bag with a decorating tip or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes with the Bailey’s mixture and decorate, if desired.


Then dive in and enjoy!  This was my first experience with filled cupcakes and it was super easy.  It may be my new thing…

Store in an airtight container.

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