Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Whipped Irish Cream Frosting

As a final “hurrah” before Kit gets here, Matt and I hosted a St. Patrick’s Day Pre-Baby Bash, where we gathered all our friends together and had delicious food, hearty drinks (oh my god, we have a stockpile of beer now!), and fun conversations. We hadn’t seen some of these people in a while, so it was good to catch up before our lives officially ran away from us!

One thing we ended up making was a mini version of my chocolate stout cupcakes, which I introduced to TCC two St. Paddy’s Days ago. Since I finally had the equipment to make my own whipped cream, I decided instead to make a boozy whipped frosting that paired perfectly with the airy cupcakes. I will NEVER go back to store-bought whipped cream again, by the way. Great flavor, not too sweet, and a bit of kick really rounded out the party food.

This recipe makes about 70 mini cupcakes.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 cup stout (I used regular ol’ Guinness this time)
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Frosting

• 1 small container (16 oz.) heavy whipping cream, COLD*
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• about 3-4 shots (or more…) of Fennelly’s Irish Cream
• green food coloring, if desired
• 1 large metal bowl and 1 large metal whisk, both COLD*

*For these, stick them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes beforehand.

Method

Cupcakes

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pan.
2. Bring your beer and butter to a slight simmer in a heavy saucepan. Whisk in cocoa powder until smooth and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Mix your eggs and sour cream together in a large bowl. In a slightly smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add chocolate-butter-beer mixture to egg mixture in small increments, beating until combined. Not too fast, or you may cook the egg. Add the flour mixture in several additions and blend in slowly. Finish combining ingredients with a rubber spatula. You’ll notice the batter bubbling up a bit. Allow the batter to sit for about 10 minutes.
5. Fill your cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 18 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick through the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack.

Frosting

1. Remember, your bowl, whisk, and whipping cream must all be VERY cold before starting. Add the whipping cream to the bowl, and start whisking! It takes about 2 minutes for the cream to start turning into the whipped cream you’re looking for.
2. While whisking, slowly add in the confectioner’s sugar in small increments until all is incorporated. Continue to whisk until the desired consistency is reached — it should be pretty stiff. Add more confectioner’s sugar if it needs more sweetness.
3. Add the Irish cream and whisk to combine. Want more kick? Add more liquor!
4. For green frosting, add 4-5 drops of green food coloring, and continue adding until the desired green is reached. Mine was light green at 4-5 drops.
5. Add icing into a piping bag with a decorating tip, and go to town! A little dollop goes a long way, but I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted more. Or… if you used it sparingly so you could eat the rest out of the bowl… no judgment here at all.

Need help with the whisking part? Check out this video: