Okay, before I start this, I’d like to preface it with: WTF MOTHER NATURE. This time last year, I was painting furniture outside. In shorts. Because it was 85 degrees. It topped out at 27 yesterday. #newhampshirefail
Anyways, as you know (and are probably feeling today), yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, which is pretty much my favorite holiday because I can drink green beer, eat corned beef and cabbage, and act like a general fool and not get judged.
Except I worked a 24 hour shift so instead, I saw everyone elses Instagram and Facebook pictures and lived vicariously through them. #adultfail
It was also the Fireman’s last day at his job, so he wanted a dessert to celebrate with them (and no, he’s not jobless, he got a better job closer to home: #adultwin). Enter Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, stage right. I made them last year for his birthday and apparently swore never again…but it was 98987x easier this time with a stand mixer.
What is an Irish Car Bomb Cupcake, you ask? Well…they’re a Guinness cupcake with a whiskey chocolate ganache filling topped with Bailey’s frosting. They’re delightful. And lovely. And such a sugar rush. For real; the Fireman may or may not have indulged in the frosting a littttttle heavily Saturday night and then bounced off the walls for a good half hour before crashing.
You’ve been warned.
Strange ingredients, I know, but seriously, when you try the cupcake itself, you’ll start making chocolate batter from scratch with Guinness.
Oh, and it should be noted that it’s super helpful to open the Guinness with your shamrock bottle opener.
This is going to sound totally wierd but you have to simmer the Guinness with butter until it’s blended. Trust me on this one.
Then you dump a whole buttload of cocoa powder in. (Buttload is a relative term here).
While that’s simmering together, mix up your dry ingredients and then beat eggs and sour cream together.
Then dump it all together and mix it.
At this point, I wouldn’t tell on you if you tried a swipe of the batter. Actually, I’d judge you if you DIDN’T, because the combination of everything is to die for. Once those get popped in the oven, start your ganache.
Bittersweet chocolate…the only thing bittersweet here is that I couldn’t eat it all.
Simmer some heavy cream, and then…
Seriously? Mix it all together and then let it sit so it starts to harden a little bit. You want to be able to still pipe it into the cupcakes.
These look pretty glorious in the before shot, but wait until you get to the after!
This is my secret weapon for these cupcakes. I think it’s supposed to be used with oranges (?) but I use it to core out the cupcakes.
Like so.
This is what they should look like…not all the way through to the liner.
Then fill them with some of that decadent ganache.
Next you’ll make your frosting. Here is where I have fallen in love again with my mixer. You have to beat the butter for 5 minutes. I hated this part with the handheld mixer.
This is the after product of butter whipped for 5 minutes straight. Now you know.
And this is what it looks like after 5 cups of sugar. OHMYGOD, amiright?
My frosting technique sucks. It always looks hideous, and I’m pretty sure it’s because I use a small tip. Here’s my advice: use a big tip (that’s what she said. I’M SORRY, it’s just not a blog post without a dirty joke).
Frost those babies to your hearts content. And then consume. Please and thank you.
Or you can just take pictures of them.
That’s what I did.
Oh, and be warned, this recipe yields SO MUCH FROSTING.
So much in fact, that I made sugar cookies, frosted them all, and then froze 2 bags of leftover frosting.
I’d say it’s worth it in the end though.
