Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

If you’re looking for an extra special dessert to top off your corned beef and cabbage dinner this St. Patrick’s day, these chocolate guinness cupcakes are it! You do not need to love stout or any beer for that matter to appreciate these irresistible cupcakes because the Guinness is there to simply bring out the already present chocolate flavor we all want more of.

These beer cupcakes are rich, moist, and chocolatey but not overly sweet and because they’re lightly flavored with Guinness it takes a traditional chocolate cupcake and elevates it with a deeper chocolatey flavor and just a hint of malt. Then as if that wasn’t enough, it’s topped with a Guinness infused chocolate buttercream perfect for sinking your teeth into. Or licking off first, whatever floats your boat!

• Guinness Extra Stout – You’ll just need one bottle. I mean, if you plan on sipping while baking, then that’s another story 😉
• Vegetable oil – The needed fat for moisture and texture.
• Whole milk – Using whole milk adds richness to the consistency of the batter. It’s also one of the liquid ingredients that bring the dry ingredients together.
• Large eggs – Used for binding to create a fluffy cupcake that holds its shape!
• Pure vanilla extract – A warm flavor enhancer that brings out the flavors of the other ingredients.
• White sugar – For added sweetness. Using unsweetened cocoa powder means we need to add our own sugar.
• All-purpose flour – A neutral-tasting flour that helps to create a light and fluffy cupcake.
• Unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder – A mild-flavored cocoa powder that isn’t as bitter as regular cocoa powder. It also easily dissolves in liquid adding to the rich, velvety consistency.
• Baking powder – Reacts with the Dutch-processed cocoa powder to give it a beautiful rise.

For the Guiness Chocolate Buttercream

• Butter – Bring to room temperature ahead of time so that it creams and mixes easily.
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips – Melted and cooled.
• Powdered sugar – Sweetens the buttercream without leaving behind granules that granulated sugar might. It blends into a smooth finish.
• Reduced Guinness – From step 1, adding this is essential to the overall essence of a Guinness chocolate cupcake!
• Pure vanilla extract – Again, used as an additional flavor element that brings everything together.

Boozy cupcakes sound a lot fancier than they are. They’re perfect for occasions like St. Patrick’s day, of course, but they’re easy enough to make any time you want!

Step 1: Simmer the Guinness stout beer in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir often until it has reduced down to about ½ cup. This will take about 15 minutes. Set it aside to cool completely before going any further.

Step 2: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with 12 paper cupcake liners. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla.

Step 3: Add ¼ cup of the cooled Guinness reduction (you’ll save some for the buttercream later). Follow this with the sugar, then give everything a good stir.

Step 4: Next, add the flour, cocoa, and baking powder to the wet ingredients but only mix until there are no more lumps. Be careful not to over-mix. At this point overdoing it will release too much of the captured air making them dense and heavy.

Step 5: Using a cookie scoop or a ⅓ measuring cup, add cupcake batter to each of the cupcake tins. Fill each one equally to about ¾ of the way full leaving a bit of room for them to rise.

Step 6: Bake for 16-18 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the frosting.

Step 1: Add butter and melted chocolate to the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until combined which is about 1 minute.

Step 2: Reduce the speed and gradually add the powdered sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go, making sure to blend and incorporate everything.

Step 3: Grab your Guinness reduction and add 2 tablespoon of that along with the vanilla extract into the bowl.

Step 4: Increase to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until the frosting becomes fluffy.

Step 5: Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with the tip of your choice and decorate your cupcakes as you please. Garnish with shaved chocolate or chocolate sprinkles to top them off!

Once you get a taste of these delicious treats, you’ll be looking for reasons to make them again and again!

1. Leave out the Guinness from the frosting if preferred and substitute with an equal amount of heavy cream or whole milk.
2. Swap out the beer for equal amounts of Bailey’s Irish Cream in the frosting.
3. Adding in a little espresso into the cupcake batter pairs well with both the cocoa powder and the beer!
4. Use brown sugar instead of white sugar or a combination of both
5. Swap the milk with sour cream for a slight tang, and give the texture of these cupcakes even more softness and moisture.

• Make sure the eggs and butter are at room temperature.
• If you don’t have a stand mixer, a bowl and electric hand mixer will also work.
• Guinness Extra Stout is better to use than the Draught version.
• Use unsalted or salted butter for the frosting.
• Be sure to allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing. Otherwise, the heat from the cupcakes will melt the frosting making it a runny mess.
• Make sure to cool the chocolate chips after melting for about 10 minutes. It’s a good idea to melt them while you’re waiting for the cupcakes to cool.
• The alcohol does cook out of the beer when reducing but gives the chocolate a nice rich flavor.

Store cupcakes in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can freeze them without the frosting for up to 1 month. Wrap each one in plastic wrap then transfer them to a Ziploc freezer-friendly bag.

A great way to test is by sticking a toothpick into the center of one of them. If, when you lift it back out, it comes out clean it is done. If the batter comes out on the toothpick it means it could use a few extra minutes in the oven.

If you’re not looking to be fancy, you can absolutely slather on the frosting with a butter knife. It may not look as elegant but believe me, it’ll be just as delicious!

Other Recipes

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Chocolate Fudge Cake

Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

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