Whiskey Stuffed Car Bomb Cupcakes

Rich, chocolate Irish stout cupcakes stuffed with creamy Jameson whiskey and topped in fluffy, sweet Bailey's buttercream. Indulge in this American cocktail inspired St. Patrick's Day treat of Car Bomb Cupcakes that are perfectly sweet, just a little boozy, and won't get you an eyeroll from the bartender.

"I enjoy cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food." Said the famous Julia Child. Ya know what Ms. J? Me too, girl. Why limit ourselves to just wine when there's a whole liquor cabinet to explore?!

Ok, ok. Truth be told, my drinking while cooking days are on the back burner until say...about August 18th when Pariseau #2 is schedule to make his/her debut into the world. But the bartender in me is always on the clock. St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner here in Boston and I can guarantee you, the request for car bomb cocktails will be in attendance.

But you know what?

These whiskey stuffed stout laced chocolate cupcakes are roughly 3,000x more satisfying than an actual car bomb cocktail.

For starters, eating cupcakes > chugging beer, B. you don't have to worry about a shot glass smashing your teeth, and C. there's not chance your drinking curdled baileys (woof.)  Just welcome this chocolatey-stout goodness and sweet, booze laced buttercream into that mouth of yours.

Car Bomb Cupcakes - Three Parts

Let's break down these baked, stuffed and frosting treats shall we?

Part One.  Start with Chocolate Irish Stout Cupcakes. Yum city. If you're not a huge fan of stout, no sweat there's a strong enough chocolate taste that you're not overwhelmed with beer flavor. BUT for the beer lovers out there, the stout is still present.

Bonus, if you buy Guinness cans, you'll even have a some leftover for yourself to drink while the cupcakes bake. #winning.

Part Two:  Jameson filling. Yes, it's basically buttercream. We're making a small amount of it and there's two ways to go about it. Way #1: Reduce the Jameson to cook off the alcohol. Way #2: Use it straight up but only use half the amount.

Option 1 will give you subtle whiskey flavor without the zippy alcohol punch. Option 2...well it's the opposite.

Either way you go, you'll be piping into the center of the cupcake and swirling a small circle on top for maximum sweet whiskey divination.

Part Three:  Bailey's Buttercream. Hello! Welcome to heaven, where all the clouds are made of Bailey's buttercream. Could you just imagine breaking off a piece of cloud to stir into your morning coffee?! Sigh...coffee goals.

Bailey's buttercream is always a beloved treat for any Bailey's lover. Creamy, sweet, and just a subtle note of booziness. Because it's naturally a lower alcohol liquor, it's not cooked off in this recipe. If you need a non-alcoholic substitute, try using the Bailey's flavored coffee creamer sold in the dairy department of your grocery store.

A holiday themed treat stuffed with whiskey filling, surrounded by chocolate-y stout and sweet Irish cream.

More tasty ways to celebrate

Can get enough of festive boozy treats? Get your green dessert on with mint chocolate chip cheesecake or these green tea cupcakes.  Leslie has a recipe for Chocolate Guinness Whipped Cream! Where has that been all my life? You should definitely put a healthy dollop of that over pancakes or ice cream and maybe...just maybe a drizzle of Bailey's.

Or if you need to curb that gooey chocolate craving my girl Charity has you covered with Boozy Irish Brownies. Fudgy chocolate brownies coated with a   whiskey and Irish cream white chocolate ganache. I don't know about you, but that sounds like brownie goals to me.

For a savory way to ring in paddys, grab some guinness and slow braise short ribs for a fork-tender, succulent main dish.

How are you celebrating this year? Tell me about it in the comments! Did you make this recipe? Please leave a review and tag your 'grams with @hungerthirstplay!

Car Bomb Cupcakes

Chocolatey Guinness Irish stout cupcakes stuffed with creamy Jameson filling topped sweet Bailey's buttercream, inspired by the American cocktail.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baileys buttercream, car bomb cupcakes, st patricks desserts, stout cupcakes, whiskey stuffed cupcakes

Prep Time: 1 hr

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins

Servings: 14 cupcakes

Calories: 542kcal

Author: Lauren

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Ingredients

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ ½ cup cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons Irish Stout (such as Guinness, but any brand will work too.)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Jameson Filling

• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter (room temp bit still firm)
• ▢ ½ cup Jameson Irish Whiskey
• ▢ 1 ½ cup confectioner's sugar

Bailey's Buttercream

• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• ▢ 3 ½ cup confectioner's sugar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream Liquor

Instructions

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and fill a cupcake tins with paper liners.
• In the bowl of the standing mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, add the flour cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Mix with the paddle attachment, or a rubber spatula, until thorough mixed.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted and cooled butter, eggs, and vanilla.  Slowly pour in the stout while whisking into the mixture.
• Beat the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and continue to mix on medium speed for about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed.
• Fill the cupcake liners ¾ of the way.¹. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
• Let cool, then using a cupcake corer or a large star tip remove the core of the cupcakes.  Set aside.

Jameson Filling

• In a small saucepan, reduce the Jameson by half over medium-low heat.  Let cool completely before adding to butter mixture.²
• In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, or in a bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter until pale and fluffy.  Add the confectioner's sugar on low speed, eventually raising the speed to medium and beating until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl and paddle when needed.
• Slowly pour in the reduced Jameson while the mixer is going on medium speed.   Beat for 1 minute on high speed then transfer to a piping bag.  Cut a small tip off the bag and pipe into the cupcake cores, letting the filling overflow on the top a little.

Bailey's Buttercream

• In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, or in a bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter until pale and fluffy.  Add the confectioner's sugar on low speed, eventually raising the speed to medium and beating until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl and paddle when needed.  The frosting will be on the thick side.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the Bailey's one tablespoon at a time.³  Transfer to a large piping bag fitted with the large star tip.  Pipe over the Jameson filling.  Top with your favorite St. Patrick's Day sprinkles.

Notes

¹A regular size ice cream scoop - or a #30 scoop -  is my favorite tool for this and works perfectly with the thickness of the batter.

²For a very pronounced whiskey taste, do not reduce the Jameson over heat.  Substitute ¼ cup of Jameson straight from the bottle.

³If you need to make these non-alcoholic, you can substitute Bailey's flavored coffee creamer.  It can be found in the dairy department of any major grocery store.

Nutrition

Calories: 542kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 203mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 60g | Vitamin A: 844IU | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg