Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

March 21, 2010

Oh, the Irish Car Bomb. Since Jim believes that college is for 3 things, one of which is drinking, he wouldn’t be surprised to know that the first time I enjoyed one of these was in Stevens Point. He would also like to tell you other stories about when I was in college, but I won’t bore you, or embarrass myself, with those. Irish Car Bombs are delicious. If you’ve ever had an Irish Car Bomb, you know the drill, if not, here’s what you do:

Add a ½ shot of Bailey’s and a ½ shot of Jameson to a shot glass, layering the Bailey’s on the bottom.

Pour Guinness into a pint glass or beer mug ¾ of the way full and let settle.

Drop the shot glass into the Guinness and chug.

If you don’t drink it fast enough it will curdle, and that’s gross.

I used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and adapted my own buttercream recipe, swapping the Baileys Irish Cream for the heavy cream I usually use.

Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes

• Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes:
• 1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• Ganache Filling:
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 4 tsp Irish whiskey (optional)
• Baileys Buttercream:
• 16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3-4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp table salt
• ½ cup Bailey’s Irish cream

Directions:

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350⁰. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners.

Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend.

Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined.

Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Ganache Filling:

Melt chocolate in microwave by warming for 20 seconds at a time, and whisking inbetween until melted through. Add in cream 1/3 cup at a time, whisking to combine between additions.

Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.

Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped. The fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes, and don’t overchill.

Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. I didn’t have either of these, so I cut out my holes with a paring knife, which worked fine.

Baileys Buttercream:

In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds.

Add salt and half of the sugar; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Add the rest of the sugar and continue mixing until combined.

Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl, add Baileys ¼ cup at a time, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, between each addition.

Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Do ahead: You can bake the cupcakes a week or two in advance and store them, well wrapped, in the freezer. You can also fill them before you freeze them. They also keep filled — or filled and frosted — in the fridge for a day. (Longer, they will start to get stale.)