Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

I made these for my sister's surprise 30th birthday party back in May. I told Cayden about the cupcakes and he promised to keep the secret. The secret lasted at least 8 hours, but in the 10 minute drive to the restaurant, Cayden announced there was a secret mommy couldn't know and then whispered, "Look at the cupcakes, mom!" It was really cute.

The cupcake is Guinness chocolate, there's a Jameson ganache filling, and the icing is Bailey's. It's everything I love all wrapped into one. This was a sort of involved process, exacerbated by the fact that I bought the wrong kind of chocolate, which resulted in a frantic attempt to rectify the ganache. But with all of these flavors and ingredients, it turned out fine.

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup  Guinness

2 sticks unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

Jameson Ganache

8 ounces semisweet chocolate (or chocolate chips)

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons Jameson Irish whiskey

Baileys Frosting

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

6 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

little bit of salt

Boil the Guinness and butter in a big sauce pan over medium heat. Add the cocoa, whisk until smooth, and let it cool. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. In another bowl (I used my stand mixer), beat the eggs, sugar, and sour cream. Add the Guinness mixture to the egg mixture and blend, and then add the flour mixture and beat it on a low speed. Put the batter into cupcake liners, and bake at 350 for about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely on a rack.

To make the ganache filling, chop the chocolate (or just use chocolate chips) and put it in a microwaveable bowl. Heat the cream in a sauce pan until it simmers and then pour it over the chocolate. Let this sit for a minute or 2, and then stir it until it's smooth. Add in the butter and Jameson and stir until smooth. Let this cool until it thickens, but it needs to be soft enough to pipe.

To cut holes in the cupcakes for the ganache, I used a  1-inch round cookie cutter (that was my great grandmother's!!). I tried to cut it about half of the way down. Put the ganache into a piping bag (or you can just use a spoon and finger), and fill the cupcake holes.

To make the icing, whip the butter using a mixer for a couple of minutes, and then add the salt. Add the powdered sugar a little bit at a time, continuing to mix. Finally, add the Bailey's until the icing until it's a consistency you're happy with. Frost the cupcakes and eat a ton of them!