Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Today we have an Irish Car Bomb themed cupcake. What does this adaptation mean exactly? Glad you asked. We have a chocolate Guinness base with an Irish Cream butter cream. Oop, my past few posts have had Irish Cream. Can you blame me? It tastes great…

This recipe is actually blast from the past. I made a batch of Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes for two years ago. Hence, we have Part II of the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes. This recipe will always have a special place in my heart, since it’s when I really fell in love with the art AND science of baking. I love that baking is an art in that you can create whatever your heart so desires. But that creativity is a double edged sword. It still requires some precision; otherwise your cake will simply flop over.

Through blogging, it is truly incredible record the progress I’ve made over the past few years. At first, I strictly followed recipes to the bone to try to understand exactly how to make a certain cake. Now, I kind of just threw together what I thought would make a good, scrumptious cake. Talk about #transformationTuesday.

March 2013

March 2015

Similar to the first time, I used an apple corer to hollow the center. The only difference is that I filled it with the Irish Cream filling instead of a Jameson chocolate ganache, since I didn’t have any Jameson. The Irish Cream filling worked just as nicely. I used a little less sugar, which made the cake a little darker, and sweet butter cream provided the perfect amount of sweetness to dark Guinness cake.

Lastly, happy baking and enjoy! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Xo,
JJC

Recipe

Guinness Chocolate Cake, yield 14
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk
1 cup Guinness Draught
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 eggs

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and Guinness.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time.
5. Add the flour mixture and the liquids alternately, beating well after each addition. Consistency should be similar to a pudding.
6. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full.
7. Bake at 325F for about 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Irish Cream Buttercream
Frosting
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1½ stick)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 cups confectioner’s sugar
4 tablespoons Irish Cream
1 dash of salt

1. Whip the butter until it is light and fluffy.
2. Mix in the liquids and confectioner’s sugar until it is at a desired consistency.
3. Frost cupcakes and decorate.
4. Enjoy!