Country: Ireland
With Friday approaching, some of us already have beer on the brain. Nothing kicks the work week stress like a tall, icy pint (or two) 
And maybe a few hours of intense contemplation by the fireplace with your latest record popping and crackling in the background. Side note: Adam bought me a record player for Christmas and now I’m obsessed with vinyl. My latest addition is Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog album (awesome!) and 26 oldies my parents sent in the mail. Jackson, Zeppelin, Frampton… the whole gang is here (double awesome!) So you’ve got great beer, you’ve got fire, you’ve got music, and fellowship perhaps? There’s only one other thing you could possibly need to complete your Winter weekend wonderland: Chocolate.
The following recipe is actually for a cake, but I decided to make cupcakes because they are less hassle and more fun. Besides, I don’t own two round cake pans and I was too impatient to cook both layers separately. The option that allows me to get to the frosting part faster is always the winner.
What’s Cooking:
Dark Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes w/
Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting
Recipe Source:
Global Table Adventure
Ingredients
For the cake:
1 1/2 sticks butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup Guinness Extra Stout
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
For the buttercream:
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-4 Tbsp Bailey’s, as needed
Method
1) Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2) In a small saucepan, melt butter and whisk together with Guinness, vanilla extract, and cocoa. Remove from heat.
3) While the Guinness mixture is cooling, prepare your cupcake trays.
4) Whisk together dry ingredients, adding in two eggs. When the batter is smooth, pour it into cupcake cups.
5) Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6) While your cupcakes (or cake) is baking, make the buttercream frosting by whipping together the softened butter and sugar, and adding Bailey’s.
7) Whip for 5-10 minutes. Frost cupcakes after they have cooled.
8) Lick all of the bowls and take a nap. Because I said so.
Review
I think we can all agree that the best part of a cupcake is the frosting. Once you’ve taken those first few bites off the top, the rest is worthless. Well, if you like frosting, you’re in for a real treat. This Bailey’s buttercream is delicious, and offers a slight taste of the liqueur, for all you alcoholics It was so good that I actually still have leftover frosting in little Tupperware containers in my fridge. Hmm… I wonder how long it stays fresh? Anyway, it was definitely interesting cooking with beer and it may just be me, but I think you can actually taste a bit of Guinness in the chocolate cake. It’s different from your everyday cupcake, and definitely worth a try. And don’t feel bad inhaling one of these bad boys at the break of dawn.
Some say “a Guinness a day keeps the doctor away.” I believe it.
✔ Ireland
Capital: Dublin
Boundaries: United Kingdom, North Sea and Bay of Biscay
Yum!! My mom made something similar to these once and they were awesome! What a perfect food for Ireland!