It’s been many moons since I’ve had an Irish car bomb, but whenever St. Patrick’s Day rolls around I find myself thinking about that delicious, milkshake-like drink. To honor the patron saint of beer I whipped up some cupcakes that incorporate all the boozy components of the quintessential St. Paddy’s drink…without the hangover. You don’t have to slam these like the drink, but I won’t judge you if you do. They’re that good.
The traditional car bomb uses Guiness, Bailey’s Irish Cream, and Jameson. Around here, we tend to buck tradition and wanted to use ingredients that were local. I used Loowit War Tortoise Barrel Aged Stout (brewed in Vancouver, WA) baked into the cupcakes, Woodinville Bourbon Whiskey (distilled in Woodinville, WA) swirled in the ganache, and Five Farms Irish Cream (not local – Cork, Ireland) whipped in the icing.
The following measurements will yield 12 cupcakes.
Chocolate Cake
My go-to chocolate cake recipe is none other than Hershey’s that I’ve adapted slightly over the years. It yields an insanely moist and flavorful cake that has yet to fail me. For this version, I swapped beer for the coffee.
- 1.5 oz dark chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate
- 1/2 cup stout of your choosing
- 1/2 cup buttermilk – I use 1/2 C milk with a tablespoon of vinegar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder – can use regular cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt
Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare muffin tin.
Place chocolate chips and beer in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until chocolate is melted. Whisk together until smooth.
In a medium bowl or measuring cup, mix together buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined. With mixer on low, gradually pour in the milk mixture and mix until combined (~30 seconds). Slowly add the chocolate and beer mixture until combined.
Divide mixture evenly in the muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Ganache
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) dark chocolate chips – or your favorite kind of chocolate
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons whiskey – can add more or less depending on your desired booziness
Heat heavy whipping cream in microwave-safe dish until hot but not boiling (~45 seconds – 1 minute). Add chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes. Gently stir the mixture until smooth. Add whiskey and mix to combine. Allow ganache to cool; it will thicken as it cools and you may want to put it in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process.
Irish Cream Frosting
- 1 cup of butter, room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup Irish cream
In large bowl or stand mixer, cream butter on high until light and fluffy (~5 minutes). Slowly add powdered sugar in 1/4 cup increments allowing mixture to combine before adding more (this helps decrease the graininess you sometimes get with American buttercreams). Once all the sugar has been added, pour in the Irish cream and continue whipping until light and fluffy (~3-4 minutes).
Assembly
Once cupcakes are cooled, use a knife to cut a small hole in the top of each cupcake. Spoon a generous amount of ganache into the hole. Frost the cupcakes using your favorite method (I used a Wilton 1M tip).
mattandbethtravels 
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