Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

I stumbled upon this site while looking for something different to do with the scone recipe I was working with for Saturday's breakfast. I'm not quite sure how looking for a breakfast idea had me find the recipe for Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, but it did and with Rory suddenly obsessed with the idea of these I started wondering what else there was that I just hadn't made. There began My Kitchen Bucket List.

Named after the drink, but a whole lot more decadent and with no risk of curdling... I decided the only fair place to start on my bucket list was to create the recipe that got me onto this idea of recipes that I want to try but have never mustered up the courage to do. 

So here goes:

I was a bit sad about the sunken centres (I blame the altitude)  however the best bit of this  recipe is, it doesn't matter as you cut them out anyway!

No more evidence of my sunken middles and gee those crumbs tasted good!

That ganache was to die for...

Not my best decorating efforts, but without a tip for my piping bag, it'll do!

1 word: Divine!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Makes: 24 cupcakes

Prep Time: 45 minutes, maybe? I have no clue! | Bake Time: 18 minutes

Cupcakes:
250ml Guinness
225g unsalted butter (room temperature)
¾ cup cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Whiskey Ganache Filling:
250g bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
30g butter (room temperature)
2 tsp Irish whiskey

Baileys Frosting:
450g unsalted butter (room temperature)
5 cups powdered sugar
8 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream

1. Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Place cupcake liners into the cupcake trays. Simmer the Guinness and butter together in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Cool slightly. Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Guinness mixture to the egg mixture and combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a spatula, fold the batter until mixture is consistent. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.

2. Whiskey Ganache Filling: Finely chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until you have a consistent mixture. Let the ganache cool and thicken but make sure it is still soft enough to be piped.

3. To Fill the Cupcakes: Using a knife (a small cookie cutter would have been ideal but I didn't have one), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down. Transfer the ganache to a piping back (in my case a zip lock bag with the corner cut off) and fill the holes to the top.

4.Baileys Icing: Using an electric mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys and increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, the icing should be light and fluffy.Using a piping bag or spatula, (I went with a plain plastic piping bag, but I'd wished that I'd had a decorating tip on the end so they'd have looked prettier) ice the cupcakes.  Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.

I ended up taking these to a friend's housewarming last night and they were a big hit, chocolate and booze together in one decadent mouthful. What more could you ask for?