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Guinness and Bailey’s Irish Cream Cupcakes

Today I thought it would be the perfect time to share my favorite St. Patrick’s Day dessert: Guinness and Bailey’s Irish Cream Cupcakes. Moist and delicious chocolate cupcakes flavored with Guinness stout and then topped with a sweet frosting made with Baileys Irish Cream.

The perfect combination of two famous Irish beverages made into a dessert that you can share with your family and friends! There is no better time than to enjoy them than on March 17th!

And they couldn’t be easier to make! I have adapted my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe by adding a few additional ingredients. Then I adjusted my basic vanilla frosting recipe into an amazingly delicious creamy frosting that pairs perfectly with the chocolate cupcakes.

Guinness and Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes
Guinness and Bailey’s Irish Cream cupcakes. The perfect addition to any St. Patrick’s Day celebration!

Once the cupcakes have cooled and been frosted, you can serve them as is. However, if you want to make them a little more festive and dressed up for the holiday, add a few green sprinkles on top.

Or if you don’t mind a little food coloring, tint the frosting with a few drops of green food color. After all, they will go perfectly with the green tinted beer served at St. Patrick’s Day parties all around the world.

Guinness and Bailey’s Irish Cream Cupcakes

*Specific measurements and complete recipe instructions are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to continue to read the tips and tricks to making this recipe below.

Ingredients Required

  • 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1⁄2 cup Guinness Stout*
  • 1⁄3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1⁄2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1⁄2 cup white sugar
  • 2⁄3 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 1⁄4 cup sour cream
chocolate batter to make Guinness and Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes
The Guinness Stout gives the cupcakes an amazing and unique flavor.

Frosting Ingredients:

  • 1⁄4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • pinch table salt
  • 1 1⁄2 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream**
  • 1⁄2 tablespoon milk
  • green sprinkles and/or food coloring (optional)

*Guinness Stout does contain alcohol, however the alcohol will cook off during the baking process, leaving you with only great flavor.

**Because Bailey’s Irish Cream contains alcohol and will not be cooked off, this frosting recipe should only be consumed by those who are above the legal drinking age. However, see the recommendation below for other recommended frosting options below.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease 12 cupcake cups or fill 12 cups with cupcake paper liners.

2. In a small saucepan, heat the butter, Guinness, cocoa and brown sugar, whisking often, until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Then remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.

3. While the mixture is cooling prepare your dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl add salt, flour, white sugar and baking soda and whisk until well incorporated.

4. Then add the cooled mixture from the saucepan and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Next add the egg and sour cream and beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the Guinness cupcake batter is mostly smooth.

5. Divide the batter among the cupcake holes and fill each one about 3⁄4 full.

chocolate cupcakes
Be sure to not overfill the cups with the cupcake batter or they will expand too much and become misshapen.

6. Place the cupcake pan in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the Guinness cupcakes comes out mostly clean.

There can be a few moist crumbs on the toothpick, but not visible wet batter.

7. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Then carefully remove each cupcake and transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Prepare the Frosting

While you are waiting for the cupcakes to completely cool, prepare the frosting.

In a mixing bowl cream the room temperature butter until very light and creamy. Then add the salt and slowly add confectioners sugar a little at a time and mix on LOW speed.

Once the confectioners’ sugar is no longer visible, add the Baileys Irish Cream and milk until a spreadable consistency is achieved. If the frosting is too thick, add one additional teaspoon of milk and continue to mix and slowly add more until the desired consistency has been reached.

If you are going to add green food coloring do so at this point. Start with 3-4 drops and mix. Continue to add more until the green color is to your liking.

Once the Guinness cupcakes are completely cool, frost them with the Bailey’s frosting. Sprinkle with green sprinkles if desired.

guinness cupcakes cooked
The cupcakes are done with a toothpick inserted in the center of each cupcake comes at moistly clean, with just a few moist crumbs attached.

Commonly Asked Questions:

Can this recipe be doubled?

Absolutely! Simply double the ingredients to make 24 cupcakes.

Do I have to use Guinness?

Although the name of the recipe is Guinness cupcakes, you can use any dry stout beer to make these cupcakes. However, the taste may be slightly different as Guinness produces a unique flavor.

Can I use a different type of frosting?

When we serve these cupcakes around St. Patrick’s Day we prefer to make our own icing using Baileys Irish Cream. However, because there is a tiny bit of alcohol in Baileys there are times that it is better to use a cream cheese or buttercream frosting instead.

baileys frosting
Bailey’s frosting does have a slight bit of alcohol in the mixture. If serving these cupcakes to children it would be best to use a cream cheese frosting instead.

Other St. Patrick’s Day Recipes

If you came to check out this recipe, it is likely because you are about ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Therefore, I thought I would share some of my other favorite recipes that we make to celebrate this Irish holiday.

No, not all of the recipes below are traditional recipes that you fill find in Ireland. However, just like with the Guinness and Bailey’s Irish Cream Cupcakes, some of them are American-Irish traditions that have held up in the test of time.

Enjoy! Mary

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Yield: 12 cupcakes

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes With Baileys Irish Cream Frosting

Guinness cupcakes with Bailelys Irish Cream frosting and green sprinkles.

Chocolate cupcakes made with Guinness Stout and topped with a delicious Bailey's Irish Frosting. The perfect dessert for St. Patrick's Day!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 20 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1⁄2 cup Guinness stout
  • 1⁄3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1⁄2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1⁄2 cup white sugar
  • 2⁄3 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 1⁄4 cup sour cream

Frosting Ingredients:

  • 1⁄4 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar
  • pinch table salt
  • 1 1⁄2 tablespoons Bailey's Irish cream
  • 1⁄2 tablespoon milk

Optional

  • green sprinkles
  • green food coloring

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease 12 cupcake cups or fill with paper liners.
  2. In a small saucepan, heat the butter, Guinness, cocoa and brown sugar, whisking often, until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
  3. In a large mixing bowl add salt, flour, white sugar and baking soda and whisk until well incorporated. Add the cooled mixture from the saucepan and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the egg and sour cream and beat on medium for 2-3 minutes or until smooth.
  4. Divide the batter among the cupcake cups/liners. Fill about 3/4 full.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out mostly clean.
  6. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove and transfer to a cooling rack until completely cooled.
  7. While you are waiting for the cupcakes to cool, prepare the icing. First, in a mixing bowl cream butter until very light and creamy. Add salt, and slowly add confectioners sugar a little at a time and mix on LOW. Once the confectioners sugar is absorbed add Bailey's and milk until spreadable consistency is achieved. If the frosting is too thick, add one teaspoon of milk at a time until desired consistency has been reached. *Add the green food coloring if using and mix until the desired color has been achieved.
  8. Once the cupcakes are completely cool, frost them with the Bailey's frosting. Sprinkle with green sprinkles (optional).

Notes

  • Because the Bailey's frosting includes alcohol that won't be baked off, serve the cupcakes to only adults of legal drinking age. Otherwise use a cream cheese or buttercream frosting instead.

Recipe provided by Make Your Meals

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 322Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 188mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 1gSugar: 37gProtein: 2g

Nutritional Information is to be used as a general guideline only . Nutritional calculations will vary from the types and brands of the products used.

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