Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

For Saint Patrick's day/co-workers birthday I made what are now named Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes. I am not clever enough to realize this seemingly simple observation (Collin was). Guiness chocolate cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream buttercream. It never crossed my mind that this is Irish Car Bomb ingredients, well minus the chocolate cake....and the buttercream. Still, it's the liquor that counts in the end. I used a chocolate stout cake recipe that I've made many many times, usually with Rogue Chocolate Stout or Rogue Shakespeare stout mainly because they are some of the best. Really flavorful and really rich. Makes for a good cake.

I regret to say that I have never been all that impressed with Guinness. Sorry to offend but I think growing up in the Northwest and starting to drink beer at a relatively early age (German family...) I had a greater appreciation for local beers which I still wholeheartedly believe stomp the global competition. Anyways, I was a bit apprehensive on using Guinness, thinking that it just wouldn't be as good as the rich Rogue Stout but I had to keep with the Irish theme and I felt that if I had stuck with my usual stouts some kind of horrible Irish karma would come my way making it on St. Patricks. The batter was pretty much the same so that was a good sign but once they were cooked, man, they were way better than the others I have made. I have no idea why.....perhaps it was some good Irish karma. The universe was pleased with my compliance with tradition and they were fantastic. Also, the Bailey's Irish Cream buttercream didn't hurt either. Instead of using cream and vanilla to bind the frosting, I used Bailey's. Just Bailey's. Amazing.

I highly recommend using liquors for buttercreams. Even if it's just a little bit. So fun to experiment with flavor combinations. Plus, there's a bit of booze in there so it's an added bonus, albeit a small one. I piped on some florets of frosting instead of topping the whole cupcake with it just because it was a bit on the strong side and didn't want to overwhelm my tasters at 11AM (why is group meeting so early?). I was very pleased with the end product and got some good reviews. They were a great take on a classic. Interesting and new, yet familiar (perhaps too familiar...in the Irish car bomb sense). Will be making these again in the future. But perhaps, on a non-Irish holiday I will make it with Frangelico. Yum. Also, next time I think I'll pipe the frosting on the inside of the cupcake so "it's like a real bomb" (Collin Monda). Agreed. And perhaps just do a simple ganache on top. Cute.

P.S. Don't steal my cupcake name, even though I'm sure it's been used a million times over. Whatever.