St Patrick's Day Cupcakes

This Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes have a chocolate Guinness cake filled with salted caramel and topped with a Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream.

5 from 1 ratings

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!

Prep Time20

Cook Time14

Total Time34

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cupcakes

Author: Chef Lindsey

Ingredients

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes:

3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped fine
1 teaspoon espresso powder
3/4 cup Guinness beer
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 eggs at room temperature

For the Bailey’s Irish Cream Buttercream:

1 cup butter room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream

Salted Caramel Filling

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 325°F and line 24 cupcake tins with liners.
Combine the cocoa powder, chocolate, and espresso powder in a large bowl.
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.
While the chocolate mixture is cooling, combine flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl and whisk.
Whisk the sour cream into the chocolate mixture when it is cool.
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.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Wiping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
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.
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:

Let the cupcakes cool completely. Beat the butter until light and fluffy on high speed with an electric mixer or in the stand mixer.
Slowly add the powdered sugar. Continue to beat until well combined.
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.
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:

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

Notes

Yield – 24 cupcakes

Presentation – The cupcakes will be at their best if they are filled and frosted the day you plan on serving them.

Variations – Make these cupcakes extra special by adding some green food coloring to the buttercream. Use a gel food coloring to prevent the buttercream from getting too loose. Make sure to top it with some gold sprinkles or rainbow candy!

Flavor Tips – Use draught Guinness if you can find it over stout Guinness. Draught is infused with nitrogen, giving it a soft flavor, while stout is made with carbon dioxide, making it crispier and slightly bitter.

Storage –Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen for up to 2 months. Wrap unfrosted cupcakes tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature, refrigerated or frozen.

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