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Cupcakes

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE GUINNESS CUPCAKES

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE GUINNESS CUPCAKES
These Death by Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes are rich and decadent, loaded with stout beer and Irish whiskey.
I need to gather my thoughts for a minute…
Because these cupcakes left me kind of speechless.
If you are making treats for Valentine’s Day, these need to go to the top of your list. They are. Insane.
I turned these little devilish things out over the weekend for my brother’s birthday. He’s a chocolate on chocolate cake kinda guy, so I knew going in that I was heading in a delicious super chocolate direction. Baking with beer is something I’ve wanted to try for awhile now and I figured my brother’s birthday was a perfect opportunity to play with that concept a little bit. Plus his birthday falls on the week of Valentine’s Day, so booze-soaked dessert seemed sort of appropriate.
I’m pretty sure Chad would be thrilled if I made these over and over and over again. These are guy-friendly cupcakes.
The cake is pretty similar to this Sour Cream Fudge Cake recipe. Crazy moist and rich. The Guinness has notes of chocolate and espresso in it anyway, so it complements the chocolate cake in a pretty great way.
I think that the Whiskey Chocolate Ganache on top was my most favorite part. I’m pretty sure I’ll be putting it on all kinds of things. Some that make sense like WAFFLES. And some that don’t like… ummm well, I can’t actually think of anything.
DEATH BY CHOCOLATE GUINNESS CUPCAKES
PREP TIME 25 mins
COOK TIME 20 mins
TOTAL TIME 45 mins
These Death by Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes are rich and decadent, loaded with stout beer and Irish whiskey
Author: Heather Tullos
Serves: 24

INGREDIENTS
  • For the Cupcakes:
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup Guinness Stout
  • ¾ cup Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 eggs
  • ⅔ cup sour cream
For the Chocolate Buttercream:
  • 1 cup butter
  • 3½ cups powdered sugar
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 tablespoons heavy cream, as needed to desired consistency (see note)
For the Whiskey Chocolate Ganache
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon whiskey
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
  2. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the Guinness and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Let cool slightly for a few minutes.
  4. While the chocolate/butter/beer cools, using an electric mixer on low, beat the eggs and sour cream into the flour mixture. Pour in the chocolate and continue mixing until combined, about 1½- 2 minutes.
  5. Distribute the batter evenly between the muffin cups.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely.
  7. To make the chocolate buttercream, beat the butter for a minute until it's fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time, beating a little in between each addition. Sift in the cocoa powder and beat until it's combined. Add the salt, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of the heavy cream. Continue mixing until smooth. Add the last 2 tablespoons of heavy cream (or Bailey's; see note), more if needed, to reach the desired consistency.
  8. Pipe the frosting onto each cupcake.
  9. To make the chocolate whiskey ganache, heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until it simmers (be careful not to burn!). Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips until smooth. Whisk in the butter. Then whisk in the whiskey.
  10. Drizzle the ganache over the frosted cupcakes. Let it cool and set before serving.
NOTES
When making the chocolate buttercream, you COULD make it chocolate Bailey's buttercream by using 1-2 tablespoons of Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur in place of 1-2 tablespoons of the heavy cream.