Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Baileys Irish Cream Cupcakes

The other night I was looking for a recipe to make for a BBQ that we were having for my cousins birthday.(I would have to explain why I didn't use the recipe at another time) I stumbled across this newish blog about cupcakes and found a recipe that looked really good. I had a day off from work today, and decided to make it. Since I'm under twenty-one, I couldn't just go to the store and buy the alcohol needed. I had to have a responsible adult purchase it. And before anybody gets mad or in trouble. I did not drink it. I used it in the cupcake and baked off the alcohol, but not the flavor. Anyway the whole reason I was making them was because we have new neighbors and to welcome them to the neighborhood I wanted to give them a little something and be friendly. So that we might actually start to get to know our neighbors. We've lived here almost two years now and we know two of our neighbors, and we are working on the third. Its pretty sad, when we use to live in a neighborhood where we knew everyone. Well the neighbors seemed to like the cupcakes, but for some reason we didn't like them that well. My dad was the only one that said that he really liked the cupcakes. I don't really know what was wrong with them, but they looked and sounded a lot better than they actually were. Maybe I'm just a screw up. Either way I'm not going to be making them again. I might use a different kind of cupcake, and keep the filling and icing. But I'm not making that cupcake again. If you would like to try it here is the recipe which I got from Oh, cupcake! and she got it from somewhere else. Here you go:

Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1 cup Guinness stout beer
1cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa power
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
For the Ganache Filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Bailey's Irish Cream
For the Bailey's Frosting:
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream
Directions
For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk 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-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined.
Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.
For the ganache filling:
Finely 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, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and Irish cream and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.
For the Bailey's Frosting:
Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.
Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired.