So I'm a little behind on blogging and I'm just getting around to writing about my St. Patrick's Day baking (although I did at least manage to post a photo of some rainbow cupcakes in a timely manner). I had a partial bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream left over from our holiday party (the booze went into some B-52 jelly shots), so I decided to try a recipe from King Arthur Flour for Irish Cream Cupcakes -- chocolate-Irish cream cupcakes with a coffee filling and Irish cream frosting.
To make the cupcakes, you combine cake flour, cocoa, sugar, room temperature butter, eggs, salt, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and chopped chocolate (I used miniature chocolate chips instead); and then incorporate brewed coffee and Irish cream. The recipe is supposed to make enough batter for a dozen cupcakes, but I made a double batch and ended up with 31 cupcakes total.
I made the Italian buttercream a day in advance. I beat egg whites with salt, cream of tartar, and sugar until stiff; added sugar syrup heated to 240 degrees; beat the mixture until cool; and then incorporated room temperature butter. I took about a cup and a half of frosting and whisked in some espresso powder dissolved in water to make coffee buttercream; it was surprisingly difficult to get the espresso incorporated and the task required a lot of elbow grease. I added Irish cream to the remainder of the frosting. Then I covered and refrigerated both buttercreams until the following day.
After I baked the cupcakes, I took the buttercreams out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature. They were as hard as a rock at first. I didn't have time to wait for the bricks of frosting to soften on their own, so I scraped the frosting loose and then beat it in the stand mixer to get it to back to a nice soft texture. When the cupcakes were cool, I used a cupcake corer to remove cylinders of cake and filled the centers with coffee buttercream, using a piping bag. Then I piped Irish cream buttercream on top and added some shamrock sprinkles.
The cupcakes themselves were rich -- intensely chocolatey with a moist but slightly heavy texture. I couldn't taste the Irish cream in the cupcakes, but I definitely could in the frosting -- and even though I love the sweet aroma of Irish cream, the frosting was a little too alcoholic for my taste. On the other hand, I thought that the coffee buttercream was incredible. Both buttercreams were luscious and beautifully smooth. I would absolutely use this frosting recipe again; you can flavor it with pretty much anything you like. As it turns out, making a full batch of buttercream (which I then divided into the two flavors) produced just enough filling and frosting for all of my cupcakes.
This is not a light dessert. But if you're looking for a decadent treat and you're a fan of Irish cream, I recommend you give these cupcakes a try!
Recipes: "Irish Cream Cupcakes" and "Irish Buttercream" from King Arthur Flour.
Previous Post: "Ipso Fatto Instant Photo: Happy St. Patrick's Day!," March 17, 2015.
To make the cupcakes, you combine cake flour, cocoa, sugar, room temperature butter, eggs, salt, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and chopped chocolate (I used miniature chocolate chips instead); and then incorporate brewed coffee and Irish cream. The recipe is supposed to make enough batter for a dozen cupcakes, but I made a double batch and ended up with 31 cupcakes total.
I made the Italian buttercream a day in advance. I beat egg whites with salt, cream of tartar, and sugar until stiff; added sugar syrup heated to 240 degrees; beat the mixture until cool; and then incorporated room temperature butter. I took about a cup and a half of frosting and whisked in some espresso powder dissolved in water to make coffee buttercream; it was surprisingly difficult to get the espresso incorporated and the task required a lot of elbow grease. I added Irish cream to the remainder of the frosting. Then I covered and refrigerated both buttercreams until the following day.
The cupcakes themselves were rich -- intensely chocolatey with a moist but slightly heavy texture. I couldn't taste the Irish cream in the cupcakes, but I definitely could in the frosting -- and even though I love the sweet aroma of Irish cream, the frosting was a little too alcoholic for my taste. On the other hand, I thought that the coffee buttercream was incredible. Both buttercreams were luscious and beautifully smooth. I would absolutely use this frosting recipe again; you can flavor it with pretty much anything you like. As it turns out, making a full batch of buttercream (which I then divided into the two flavors) produced just enough filling and frosting for all of my cupcakes.
This is not a light dessert. But if you're looking for a decadent treat and you're a fan of Irish cream, I recommend you give these cupcakes a try!
Recipes: "Irish Cream Cupcakes" and "Irish Buttercream" from King Arthur Flour.
Previous Post: "Ipso Fatto Instant Photo: Happy St. Patrick's Day!," March 17, 2015.
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