Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Rich Guinness infused chocolate cake dipped in Jameson Whiskey chocolate ganache topped with creamy Bailey’s Irish Cream buttercream… the perfect cupcake for the Irish Car Bomb lover in your life!

I had an order for my Irish Car Bomb cupcakes so I decided to try something new with them.  As you might remember, in my original recipe, I filled the cupcakes with the ganache, leaving the top open to expose the ganache.

This time I dipped the top of the cupcake in the ganache, creating a shiney, chocolatey cap for the cupcake.   I chose a higher quality chocolate for the ganache using a 70% cocoa Lindt chocolate.  Also modified was the buttercream recipe, adding more sugar & Bailey’s.  I like how these turned out & think they are a much better quality cupcake.

View the slideshow below for more photos!

Enjoy!

UPDATE:  It seems as though the name of these cupcakes has offended some people.  It was never my intention for this to be the case.  Please know that the idea behind these cupcakes comes from an American drink that my husband would order at the bar. The “Irish” in the name refers to the drink’s Irish ingredients; typically Guinness stout, Baileys Irish Cream, and Jameson Irish Whiskey.  The “car bomb” refers to the fact that the drink is a “bomb shot”… meaning the shot is dropped into the glass of beer.  Please accept my apology if the name of these cupcakes has offended you.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 48 minutes

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Ingredients

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 cup Guinness beer
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream

Jameson Ganache

• 4oz dark 70% cocoa chocolate
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp corn syrup
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp Irish Whiskey

Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream

• 2lbs powdered sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 airline size bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream
• 1oz finey chopped 70% dark chocolate

Instructions

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees and line cupcake pan with liner.
2. Bring Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and sour cream. Add cooled chocolate mixture to the bowl and whisk to combine.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
6. Add the flour to the wet mixture and whisk until combined and no flour lumps remain. Be careful not to over mix.
7. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool in pans for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ganache

1. Chop chocolate into very small pieces and place in a large heat-safe bowl.
2. In a small sauce pan over medium high, heat the cream until just simmering.
3. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and let stand for 2-3 minutes WITHOUT stirring.
4. Stir with a spatula until smooth.
5. Add the butter, corn syrup and whiskey and stir until combined.

Buttercream

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.
2. Add the Irish cream and mix on high for 3-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Assembly

1. After the cupcakes have completely cooled, dip each upside down in the ganache. Let the ganache set up for about an hour.
2. Using a Wilton #6B tip fitted on a piping bag, pipe swirls of frosting on top of the ganache. Make sure to pipe just in the center of the cupcake so that the ganache can still be seen on the sides.
3. Garnish with the finely chopped chocolate.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 48 minutes

Print

Ingredients

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 cup Guinness beer
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream

Jameson Ganache

• 4oz dark 70% cocoa chocolate
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp corn syrup
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp Irish Whiskey

Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream

• 2lbs powdered sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 airline size bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream
• 1oz finey chopped 70% dark chocolate

Instructions

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees and line cupcake pan with liner.
2. Bring Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and sour cream. Add cooled chocolate mixture to the bowl and whisk to combine.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
6. Add the flour to the wet mixture and whisk until combined and no flour lumps remain. Be careful not to over mix.
7. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool in pans for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ganache

1. Chop chocolate into very small pieces and place in a large heat-safe bowl.
2. In a small sauce pan over medium high, heat the cream until just simmering.
3. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and let stand for 2-3 minutes WITHOUT stirring.
4. Stir with a spatula until smooth.
5. Add the butter, corn syrup and whiskey and stir until combined.

Buttercream

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.
2. Add the Irish cream and mix on high for 3-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Assembly

1. After the cupcakes have completely cooled, dip each upside down in the ganache. Let the ganache set up for about an hour.
2. Using a Wilton #6B tip fitted on a piping bag, pipe swirls of frosting on top of the ganache. Make sure to pipe just in the center of the cupcake so that the ganache can still be seen on the sides.
3. Garnish with the finely chopped chocolate.