St Patrick’s Day Cupcakes

These St Patrick’s Day Cupcakes are made with a rich Guinness chocolate cake that is filled with salted caramel sauce and topped with Baileys buttercream. It all comes together for a perfectly well-balanced cupcake!

The Guinness in these St Patrick’s Day cupcakes enhances the cake’s chocolate flavor and complements the salted caramel filling. Topped with an easy and generously flavored Baileys buttercream, these cupcakes are a magnificent St. Patty’s Day treat.

For more delicious and fun St Patrick’s Day treats, make the red velvet cookies and turn them into green velvet cookies! You can also take the savory route with traditional Irish soda bread with raisins or this Irish brown bread.

Professional Tips for Making St Patrick’s Day Cupcakes

• Make the caramel sauce in advance. The key to getting the caramel to stay as a filling and not disappear into your cake is making sure that it is the right consistency before filling. It should not fall like ribbons or be so hard that it doesn’t flow at all. Making the caramel in advance will ensure it is at the right temperature. 
• Use room temperature ingredients. Use room-temperature butter, eggs, and sour cream for the best-textured chocolate cupcakes. This will aid in the emulsion and help create a more tender crumb. 
• Make sure the cake is fully cooled. If the chocolate cupcake is still warm, the caramel sauce will melt right into the cake, and the frosting will melt off the cake. 
• Sift the powdered sugar. Powdered sugar can become lumpy over time and mixing it with butter doesn’t always remove those lumps. Sifting the sugar is cheap insurance for a silky smooth buttercream.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Dutch-processed cocoa powder: Dutch-processed cocoa powder has been treated with an alkaline solution. It has a rich, deep flavor and a darker color than natural cocoa powder. You can use natural cocoa powder if that’s all you have.
• Bittersweet chocolate: I love bittersweet chocolate because it balances some of the sweetness in the cake. Dark chocolate may be substituted in a pinch. Just use a higher percentage, like 60% or above, to keep the cake from being overly sweet. 
• Espresso powder: Espresso powder enhances the chocolate and the Guinness in the cake. 
• Guinness beer: The recipe only uses ¾ cup, so open the beer, measure it, and then enjoy the rest! You could, of course, use the remainder to make this rich Guinness chocolate cake!
• Sour cream: Sour cream has just enough moisture to hydrate the flour and fat to inhibit the gluten formation. It is acidic, and reacts with baking soda to create a perfect rise. Greek yogurt may be substituted, use full-fat Fage yogurt for the best-textured cake.
• All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour has the right amount of gluten to make a tender chocolate cake. 
• Kosher salt
• Baking soda
• Unsalted butter: In frostings and buttercreams the butter is there for stability. It will firm up when cold, which helps the buttercream support the cake layers or keep the beautiful piping on a cupcake. 
• Light brown sugar: Light brown sugar adds sweetness along with a bit of moisture. Keeping the cake softer while adding a nice molasses flavor. Dark brown or granulated sugar can be substituted. 
• Vanilla extract
• Eggs: Whole eggs add fat, moisture and leavening. They also emulsify the batter, which helps create a tender texture. 
• Confectioner’s Sugar: Confectioner’s sugar is used in American buttercreams because it is ground finely into a powder, allowing it to create a smooth, silky buttercream without having to be heated. 
• Baileys Irish Cream: The Baileys in the buttercream is not cooked. The alcohol will still be present in the frosting, just like in the ganache of the caramel brownies recipe. You can also substitute heavy cream and vanilla extract to reach the proper consistency. 
• Salted Caramel Sauce: You can make these cupcakes with my homemade salted caramel sauce or use store bought! If you do make the caramel sauce, make extra so you can enjoy these chocolate caramel cupcakes or these addicting carmelitas!

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Change the frosting. You can top these cupcakes with my caramel swiss meringue buttercream, cream cheese buttercream frosting, or make it double chocolate with my easy chocolate buttercream frosting recipe. Maybe you want to keep it boozy. Then make this bourbon cream cheese buttercream from the best red velvet cake recipe!
• Change the filling. You can switch up the filling by making salted maple caramel sauce, cherry preserve, or make my pastry cream recipe and add more Baileys!
• Add some fun decorations. St Patrick’s Day shamrock sprinkles are always a must! You can also add rainbow belt candy and mini marshmallows for a cute rainbow in the clouds look.

How to Make St Patrick’s Day Cupcakes

Use these instructions to make festive St Patrick’s Day cupcakes! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Make the cupcakes: 

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325°F and line 24 cupcake tins with liners. 

Step 2: Combine the cocoa powder, chocolate, and espresso powder in a large bowl. 

Step 3: Bring the Guinness to barely boiling in a small saucepan. Pour the hot Guinness over the chocolate mixture and whisk until completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature. 

Step 4: While the chocolate mixture is cooling, combine flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl and whisk. 

Step 5: Whisk the sour cream into the chocolate mixture when it is cool. 

Step 6: In a bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla together at medium speed until pale and fluffy. 

Step 7: Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Wiping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Step 8: Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions. Alternate between the flour and chocolate mixture, beginning and ending with flour. 

Step 9: Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners. Bake until a toothpick or cake tester comes out with some crumbs still attached, about 20-30 minutes. Cool in the cupcake pan for 5 minutes before cooling on a wire rack.

Make the buttercream:

Step 10: Let the cupcakes cool completely. Beat the butter until light and fluffy on high speed with an electric mixer or in the stand mixer. 

Step 11: Slowly add the powdered sugar. Continue to beat until well combined. 

Step 12: Add the Baileys a tablespoon at a time, beating and scraping the bowl down between each addition. Whip until light and fluffy. If your butter was not completely softened, this will take longer. 

Step 13: Use a rubber spatula to put the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a piping tip of your choice. Press the buttercream all the way to the bottom of the bag, making sure there are no air bubbles. Twist the top opening of the pastry bag to ensure you don’t lose any of the deliciousness. 

Assemble the cupcakes:

Step 14: Remove the center of the cupcakes using a knife, a cupcake corer, or any other small, round object of your imagination. 

Step 15: Fill the center with the salted caramel sauce. It should be thick, like cooling lava. If it is too warm and runny, then it will just soak into your cake. 

Step 16: Pipe (or spread) the frosting onto each cupcake. I use a Wilton 2D piping tip. Sprinkle with green sanding sugar if desired! Store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this chef tested St Patrick’s Day recipe. Check out our other delicious cupcake recipes like these rich german chocolate cupcakes or carrot cake cupcakes!