In The Kitchen with Laura Mckenna Recipe: Drunken Irish Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients
-1 cup Guinness beer (what you do with the rest of the bottle is up to you!)
-1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
-3/4 cup processed cocoa
-2 cups flour
-2 cups sugar
-1 1/2 tsp baking soda
 -3/4 tsp salt
-2 eggs
-2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling Ingredients
-8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
-2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
-2 TBSP butter, at room temperature
-2 tsp. vanilla

Boozy Frosting Ingredients
-2 cups unsalted butter, at room temp
-5 cups powdered sugar
-6 TBSP of Irish Cream liqueur (and put some on ice for yourself)

Cupcakes: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  You’ll need 24 regular sized cupcake wrappers (sometimes I need a few more or a few less).  Put those in your cupcake trays.  Simmer the Guinness and butter in a pan over medium heat.  Add the cocoa and whisk it all together until it’s smooth.  Take it off the burner and cool it slightly. 

In a separate bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.   In your mixer, beat together the sour cream and eggs on medium speed until combined.  Add your chocolaty Guinness mixture to the egg mixture and beat until just combined.  Reduce to low speed and add your flour mixture. 

Beat everything for just a short bit and then fold the ingredients together with a spatula until completely combined.  Fill your cupcake liners with batter.   I recommend only filling them between 1/2 and 3/4 full because they will puff up. 

Bake about 16 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean after inserting into the middle of a cupcake.   Remove them from the cupcake pan to cool.

Ganache Filling:  Use a grater to finely shred the chocolate into shavings and put it in a separate bowl.  In a saucepan, heat the cream until it simmers and then immediately pour into the bowl with the chocolate shavings. 

Let it rest for about a minute or so and then stir from the center of the bowl to the outside until smooth.  Add the vanilla and butter and stir again until smooth.  The ganache will start to thicken as it cools.  

The perfect consistency to fill your cupcakes is thick, but still soft enough to go through your injector/piping tool.    I prefer the Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator injection tip.    Fill the injector with the ganache and then insert half-way into the cupcake from the top.  

The ganache will expand the cupcake but then it will harden a bit once it cools all the way.   I usually always have some leftover.  You can use it as a glaze for another dessert.  Or pour it onto a sheet of aluminum foil and let it harden in the fridge to enjoy as another chocolatey treat. 

Frosting:  Beat butter in your mixer for about 5 minutes until it’s whipped.  You may need to scrape down the sides of your bowl a few times.  Reduce speed and slowly mix in the powdered sugar until it’s all smooth.  Add the Irish Cream and whip another few minutes until it’s fluffy.  Frost your cupcakes as desired and add whatever garnishes you like.

Want to share a recipe with Laura McKenna? She’d love to hear from you! Email anytime: Laura.McKenna@civicmedia.us
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