Irish Carbomb Cupcakes

[bitchy-brat.livejournal.com]

My friend bloodstnedtears posted this recipe in her community, amateurbaker so it is reposted with permission since her posting is friends only.

Recipe Name: Irish Carbomb Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache
Type of Food: Dessert
Cook Time: 15-17 minutes per batch
Servings: ~24
Difficulty: Intermediate

Recipe is broken up into three steps, cake, ganache, and frosting.


Cake Ingredients:
1 cup stout (Guinness)
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsps baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 tsp salt in large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to eggs and beat to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly at low speed. Using rubber spatula, fold sour cream into batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners. Bake cake until toothpick comes out clean, rotating them once so they come out even. Should be about 17 minutes. Cool on rack completely.

Ganache Ingredients:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1-2 tsps Irish Whiskey

Directions:
Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for 1 minute and then stir until smooth. Add butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let ganache cool until thick, but soft enough for piping. Meanwhile, cut the centers from the cupcakes using a cookie cutter or apple corer. Aim for 2/3 of the way down. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill holes in each cupcake to the top.

Frosting Ingredients:
3-4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temp
3-4 tbsps Bailey's Irish Cream Liquor (or milk/heavy cream)

Directions:
Whip the butter in a bowl with a mixer for several minutes, until it is very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar a few tbsps at a time. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Bailey's and whip. If this makes the frosting too thin, beat in more sugar. Ice and decorate the cupcakes.



I made this with a friend of mine last weekend and we ran into a small issue in the start as we put the butter and Guinness together and it boiled before the butter melted. My suggestion is to fully melt the butter then add the Guinness. Also add a little of the cooled butter, Guinness and chocolate mixture to the egg then stir it in so the egg doesn't cook.

I also substituted the whiskey with raspberry vodka since we didn't have Irish whiskey and probably put a little more icing on than necessary (two wound up without icing on them but still got eaten regardless) so will know to not do that next time around.