Chocolate Stout Cupcakes With Whiskey Ganache and Irish Cream Frosting

I added a little shamrock straw as a festive decoration to the cupcakes to play off the Guinness, Irish Whiskey and Irish Cream in this Irish nip.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes start with a cake mix and are filled with an Irish Whiskey Ganache and topped with an Irish Cream Buttercream Frosting. Guinness Stout enhances the flavor of the chocolate in the same way coffee does, resulting in a richer chocolate flavor.

Despite the all the liquid ingredients, you won’t find these cupcakes overly boozy. . . just a subtle note of Irish Cream in the frosting and chocolate-malt flavor from the Guinness Stout. The Irish whiskey is the most pronounced flavor in the oh-so-decadent chocolate ganache!

Cupcake Ingredients, Makes 24 Cupcakes

• 1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist devil’s food cake mix
• 1 1/4 cups Guinness Stout beer
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place a paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. In large bowl, beat all cupcake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups using a cookie scoop for easy filling. Bake 18 to 23 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove cupcakes from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely.

Irish Whiskey Ganache

• 8 oz. good quality dark chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli, 1 bar of bittersweet chocolate and 1 bar semi-sweet chocolate)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup Irish whiskey (I used Jameson)

To Make Ganache filling:

Coarsely chop chocolate bars and place in a heat proof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream and Irish whiskey just to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour cream mixture over chocolate and let stand for 1 minute, until chocolate has softened. Whisk the mixture until smooth and chocolate is melted and shiny. Transfer bowl to refrigerator and let stand until just chilled, no longer than 30 minutes and stirring occasionally. Transfer cooled ganache filling to piping bag fitted with a Wilton 2A tip. Insert tip directly into cupcake, squeezing as you pull the tip up and out of the cupcake to add filling.

Irish Cream Buttercream Frosting, Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients:

• 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 4 Tbs. Bailey’s Irish Cream
• 3 tsp. milk
• 1/4 tsp. salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine all ingredients and beat on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

If the frosting is dry, add more milk, 1 tsp. at a time, until it is creamy but still holds peaks. Transfer frosting to piping bag and top cupcakes. I used a Wilton 1M piping tip. Add some sprinkles or nonpareils if desired.

Find a round-up of recipes to help your Eat, Drink and Be Irish, HERE.