Happy St Patty’s Day. . . almost.  How are you celebrating this year?

When I was a kid, I really enjoyed St Patty’s Day.  At my elementary school, the unofficial “rules of St Patty’s Day” stated that if someone pinched you and you were wearing green, you could pinch them back.  I got super creative about hiding my green so I could pinch back the people who thought pinching was fun.  I think I imagined myself as some sort of Robin Hood, righting the playground wrongs for one glorious day a year.

This year, I think my celebration will center around these Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes.  Guinness chocolate cake, Bailey’s frosting, and an Irish Whiskey caramel center.  They are fairly intensely boozy but really. . . what else do you want in a St Patty’s Day cupcake?  I also really like that the caramel center mirror’s the action of dropping the shot of Bailey’s and Whiskey into the bottom of the Guinness glass.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Amended from Smitten Kitchen and Cooking with Caitlin 

1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Caramel Filling

2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 Cup Whiskey
1 Tb Vanilla
1 Tsp Kosher Salt

Baileys Frosting
1.5 cups confections sugar
2 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperatue
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly. - Seriously, use the cupcake liners.  I didn’t and I regretted it.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.  

Caramel filling

In large saute pan add your sugar. Turn to high heat.  Once your sugar starts to melt, stir with a heat resistant spatula. Continue until completely melted. After your sugar is melted add your cream, vanilla, and salt. It will begin to bubble up and the sugar will clump up in the middle but leave it on high heat and whisk it all together until it is a uniform consistency.  When everything is smooth in texture remove the pan from the heat and add the whiskey. **Make sure you remove the pan from the heat because it’ll flame up! PLEASE BE CAREFUL!**

Fill the cupcakes: I use the filling adjustment of my pastry bag but you could also hollow out the cupcake and fill it by hand.

Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

Frost the cupcakes.