These Irish Car Bomb cupcakes are made with a chocolate Guinness cupcake, Irish whiskey ganache and Baileys buttercream which really makes it the perfect St. Patrick’s Day treat. You may be wondering why they’re called Irish Car Bomb cupcakes. Well it’s because they are inspired by the popular drink which includes dropping of shot of Baileys and Irish whiskey in some Guinness beer and drinking it quickly before it curdles. Don’t worry though, you can take your sweet time eating these boozy cupcakes.
This recipe is also going in line with the Guinness trend we have going on for the past two weeks. Neither Ryan nor I are huge fans of Guinness so we wanted to use it all by baking/cooking with it.Thanks Julie Amorese for getting me the recipe, adapted from Brown Eyed Baker. We had my old roommate Lindsey and her boyfriend Matt in town for the weekend so this was a perfect excuse to bake a sweet treat. They are big foodies like us so I wanted to make something I knew would be awesome!
These cupcakes definitely did the trick. The Guinness in the cupcake brings out the chocolate flavor. The Jameson in the ganache center really just gives it a slight whiskey kick. And then the sweet Irish cream buttercream brings all the flavors together. I suggest you make this for your Saint Patrick’s Day festivities. Enjoy!
What Ingredients are in this Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes Recipe?
- Alcohol – Guinness, Irish Whiskey, Baileys
- Unsalted butter
- Cocoa powder
- Chocolate chips
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Egg
- Greek yogurt
- Heavy Cream
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes:
1. Melt butter and Guinness in pan.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in large bowl and set aside.
3. Add cocoa powder and chocolate chips to Guinness/butter mixture and mix until combined. Allow to cool slightly
4. In stand mixer, beat together eggs, Greek yogurt and vanilla extract. Add chocolate mixture and beat until combined. Slowly add in flour mixture and mix until just combined.
5. Scoop batter 2/3 of the way full in cupcake liners.
6. Bake at 350°F for 17-19 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Place on cooling rack and allow to cool.
7. Heat heavy cream and add chocolate and let sit for 2-3 minutes.
8. Mix together cream, chocolate, butter, whiskey and vanilla extract. Set aside.
9. Make Baileys frosting by beating butter with whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Reduce speed and add powdered sugar until fully incorporated. Add Baileys and beat for another 2-3 minutes until you reach desired consistency.
10. Once cupcakes are cool, cut out holes.
11. Add ganache to cupcakes.
12. Pipe Baileys frosting on top of cupcakes.
What if I Don’t Have Guinness?
Not a problem. You can easily replace Guinness with some freshly brewed coffee. The point of either Guinness or coffee is to bring out the chocolate flavor. However Guinness cupcakes are pretty hard to beat and Guinness cupcakes with Baileys frosting really put you in the St. Paddy’s Day mood.
How to Make Chocolate Ganache
The key to a good ganache is to heat the heavy cream to a simmer but not a full boil. Then pour the cream into the bowl with the chocolate and let it sit for a minute or two. If using a chocolate bar, finely chop it beforehand. After you’ve let the chocolate melt for a couple of minutes, use a rubber spatula to combine the ingredients. At this point you’d stir in the butter and whiskey, but you don’t have to use whiskey if you don’t want to. However these are boozy cupcakes for a reason!
How Long Do Cupcakes Last?
To maximize the shelf life of cupcakes, place them in a covered airtight container or cover with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
- Cupcakes at room temperature will last 1-2 days
- Cupcakes in the fridge will last 1 week
- Cupcakes in the freezer will last 4 months
Other Cupcake Recipes
Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup Guinness stout
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Ganache
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Irish Whiskey
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 deg. Line 12 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and chocolate chips and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to let cool slightly.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, greek yogurt and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined. Add the chocolate/Guinness mixture to this and beat until just combined. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. Use a rubber spatula and fold the batter until completely combined.
- Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners until each one is about 2/3 of the way full. The batter will be slightly thicker than a typical cake batter.
- Bake 17-19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes on a wire rack.
Ganache
- Place the chocolate chips in a medium heatproof bowl. Heat the heavy cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for 2-3 minutes and then stir it.
- Add the butter, whisky and vanilla extract and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool till thickened, but still soft enough to pipe out.
- Using a knife, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. (I take a knife and cut about a 1 in diameter circle, angling the knife in slightly so it comes out evenly). Put the ganache in a piping bag or a sandwich bag the corner cut out. Fill in the holes of the cupcakes.
Frosting
- Using the whisk attachment of a mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl after every minute. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until it is all incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2-3 minutes until it is light and fluffy
- Using a piping bag with a large decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes. Decorate how desired.
Man you just keep rolling out great recipes!