I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of St. Patrick’s Day (which I am totally blaming on my extreme hatred of bagpipes) but I do like chocolate, beer & Baileys Irish cream, so I decided to whip up these Guinness Cupcakes bookmarked for a few months now.

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1 c. Guinness
• 1 c. unsalted butter
• 3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 c. all purpose flour
• 2 c. sugar
• 1.5 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 c. sour cream

Filling Ingredients:

• 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
• 2/3 c. heavy cream
• 2 tbsp. room temperature unsalted butter

Frosting Ingredients:

• 3 c. confectioners sugar
• 1/2 c. room temperature unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp. Baileys Irish Cream

For the Cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Combine butter & Guinness and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Add cocoa & whisk together until smooth.  Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool for a few minutes
• Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk
• In a separate bowl, mix the eggs & sour cream with an electric beater until smooth.  Pour in Guinness & butter mixture and mix
• Stir all wet ingredients into the large mixing bowl containing dry and mix until combined
• Pour mixture into cupcake liners & bake for 12 minutes
• Once cupcakes have cooled, poke holes in the middle for the filling (you can use a wooden spoon, nothin’ fancy)

For the Filling:

• Put bittersweet chocolate in a bowl and set aside – bring heavy cream to a simmer & pour over the chocolate.  Add butter & stir until smooth and combined
• Refrigerate mixture and stir every 10 minutes until it’s pourable but not runny
• Using a frosting bag, fill the hole in each cupcake with the chocolate ganache you’ve just created 

For the Frosting:

• Add butter to a large bowl & beat with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy
• Gradually add powdered sugar and whip with mixer – once combined, add Baileys