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Baking with booze: Guinness cupcakes with Bailey’s frosting is the perfect combo

This delicious treat is your new favorite way to enjoy a Guinness

Lindsay Parrill
By

There are some things in the world of food that are just made to go together. Peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, fish and chips, and yes, Guinness and chocolate cupcakes. If you’ve yet to try the last example, you’re not alone, but oh, are you missing out. This sweet treat combines two of the most beautiful things ever created — chocolate and Guinness — and serves them up in one sinfully scrumptious adults-only dessert, then tops them with Bailey’s. If you aren’t reaching for the cupcake tin right now, we’re sorry to say, but it may be time to seek help.

Guinness works its magic on chocolate similarly to the way coffee does — bringing out the boldness of its flavors, accentuating them with its own rich magnificence. But Guinness brings a whole new hatful of flavors to the table with its stouty, slightly bitter notes, and smooth, creamy hop. When these flavors fuse together with chocolate batter, something pretty magical happens in that cupcake tin, and we can’t get enough. Top it all off with the soft vanilla notes of Bailey’s, and you’ve just found yourself a new all-time favorite dessert.

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Guinness cupcakes with Bailey’s frosting

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Ingredients:

Cupcakes

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup Guinness stout beer
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-3 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream
  • Chocolate sprinkles (optional)

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F.
  2. Line muffin tin with 16 liners and set aside.
  3. Ready the mixer with the whisk attachment, then add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt to the bowl. Whisk until combined.
  4. Carefully add the mixture the milk, Guinness, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix just until combined.
  5. Pour batter evenly into cupcake liners and bake for 15-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
  6. Cool completely before adding frosting.
  7. To make the frosting, ready mixer with a paddle attachment and add the softened butter. Cream for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
  8. Scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, pour in vanilla extract and mix well.
  9. Add the powdered sugar a bit at a time, fully combining after each addition. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix until well combined.
  10. Slowly pour in the Bailey’s Cream with the mixer on low. Once combined, increase speed to high for 2-3 minutes.
  11. Frost cupcakes and top with sprinkles, if desired.

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Lindsay Parrill
Lindsay Parrill
Contributor
Lindsay is a graduate of California Culinary Academy, Le Cordon Bleu, San Francisco, from where she holds a degree in…
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