Car-Bomb Cup Cakes

Disclaimer: This is not an easy recipe to make and does take quite a chunk of time but well worth it. I also doubled the recipe as I was bringing these in for my coworkers 21st Birthday.

I found the recipe here at SmittenKitchen. She does a really good job of explaining the recipe but i made a few changes and additions.

From Wikipedia:  Irish Car Bomb: The name refers to the drink's Irish ingredients - typically Guinness stout, Baileys Irish Cream, and Jameson Irish Whiskey. The whiskey is floated on top of the Irish Cream in a shot glass, and the shot glass is then dropped into the stout. Once mixed, the drink must be consumed quickly because it will curdle.

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcake you will need:

1 cup of Guinness
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

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your cupcake trays with liners (I found fun shamrock ones at Micheal's).
In a sauce pan, bring Guinness and Butter to a simmer and then whisk in Cocoa Powder until smooth.

Let it cool slightly. (I used the whisk on my hand mixer it worked much better than by hand)
In one large bowl, mix Flour, Sugar, Baking Soda and Salt.

In another larger bowl, beat eggs and sour cream with a hand mixer.

Add the Guinness Pot to the Egg/Sour Cream mixture and beat just until mixed.

Slowly mix in flour mixture while using the electric mixer.
Using a rubber spatula fold batter until completely combined.

Fill cup cake liners 3/4 full and bake for 17-18 minutes. tooth pick should come out clean. Let these cool on a wire rack.

While those are baking you can get started on the frosting.

For the Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting you will need....

3 cups Confectioner's Sugar (Powder Sugar)
1 stick of Unsalted Butter - Softened!
1 8oz Package of Cream Cheese - Softened!
1-2 tbs. of Bailey's (taste 1st before adding that 2nd tbs.)

In a large bowl mix Butter and Cream Cheese with a hand mixer until fluffy.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar mixing as you go.
Drizzle in the Bailey's and mix thoroughly.

For the Whiskey Chocolate Ganache filling you will need....

8 oz of Bittersweet Chocolate
2/3 cup Heavy Cream
2 tbs. Butter
2-3 tsp of Jameson Whiskey

In a saucepan, boil water.
In another sauce pan, heat the cream until starts to simmer.
Add in your chocolate chips, remove from heat, and after about a minute stir the melted chocolate until smooth.
If you need to get to smoother place the pot over the boiling water pot to create a double boiler.
Add Butter and Whiskey and mix well.
Thicken and cool the ganache in the fridge before filling the cupcakes.

Putting the cupcakes together.....
Using a garnish knife or a apple corer, cut the centers out of the cupcake. DON'T GO ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM.

Fill each cupcake with ganache, the easiest way is to use a pastry bag or a ziplock with the corner cut.

Then ice each cupcake with the frosting - use a knife or make it fancy by using a piping bag.

Then Enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!