Top o’ the Mornin’ to Ye!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
To celebrate, we’ve combined all of our favorite Irish spirits into one Irish Car Bomb of a cupcake, except this one you can consume slowly (if you have the will power.) These take a bit of time to make, but you will only be grateful that you went through the process. Get your friends involved in the process for a team effort. Just try not to drink all of your ingredients before you make these delicious treats… Enjoy! Oh, and remember to tag us when you make them. @tasteandcompany #tastethis
Chocolate Stout & Irish Cream Cupcakes
Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes
SPECIAL TOOLS:
Cupcake Tin and Liners
1-inch round cookie cutter, apple corer, or paring knife
Piping bag or ziplock bag with the corner snipped (or a spoon if nothing else.)
INGREDIENTS:
Cupcakes
1 cup stout ale (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
2/3 cup heavy cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)
Irish Cream Frosting
4 cups confections sugar
2 stick (1 cup / 8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 to 6 tablespoons Irish Cream (or milk or heavy cream instead)
2 tsp vanilla
Tiny pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F. 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 Center:
Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.
To Fill the Cupcakes:
Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped. Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter, apple corer or paring knife, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes about 2/3 of the way into the cake. You can save the centers to make cake pops later if you like, or just eat ‘em. Put the ganache into a piping or Ziploc bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
Irish Cream Frosting Frosting:
Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time for a less grainy texture and less sugar dust in your face.
When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Irish Cream (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.
Plan 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 and/or frosted in the fridge for a day. (Longer, they will start to get stale.)
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Love these desserts? Reach out to us about your spring celebration. Book in a tea event, spring garden party, or dinner celebration.