You all have been loving my Irish Coffee Cupcakes so here’s another cupcake featuring an Irish classic…. Guinness!! These Guinness cupcakes are so, so tasty!! The Bailey’s frosting has to be my favorite part for sure. If you love coffee, chocolate, or Guinness you will love these cupcakes!
What makes these Guinness Cupcakes so incredible??
Guinness: The Guinness in this recipe compliments the chocolate soooo well. After they’re baked you can taste just the slightest hint of Guinness in the best way possible. It really ties everything together.
Espresso powder: Instant espresso powder is notorious for making terrible coffee, but when you put it in chocolate cupcakes it actually helps pull out the chocolate flavor in the batter.
Brown sugar: The addition of brown sugar gives these cupcakes a super delicate and moist texture.
How do I make them?
- Cream your oil and sugars to distribute the fat and sugar evenly.
- Add your eggs and vanilla.
- Use HOT Guinness and water to dissolve espresso powder and cocoa powder. This helps bring out the cocoa powder more than just mixing it into the dry ingredients.
- Mix your dry ingredients.
- Add your dry ingredients to the mixing bowl with sugar and egg mixture.
- Slowly stream in chocolate and Guinness mixture.
- Bake at 350 F for 15-22 minutes.
- Soak with 1/4 tsp Guinness, frost, and enjoy! 🙂
Tips for success
Bring your ingredients to room temperature! This is especially important in your eggs and frosting ingredients. If your eggs are too cold they won’t incorporate into the batter fully. You can quickly bring your eggs to room temperature by soaking them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for a couple minutes. If the butter or Bailey’s in your frosting are too cold it’s going to create small chunks of butter in your frosting. For a smooth, creamy buttercream you’ll need room temperature ingredients!
Preheat your oven for at least 20 minutes before you’re going to bake the cupcakes. Putting the cupcakes in the oven before it is properly heated can result in your cupcakes baking unevenly and getting crispy on the outside but raw in the middle. Using the proper temperature also allows your cupcakes to get the perfect rise every time.Â
Substitutions
Espresso powder: While there is no substitute for the frosting, you can replace the water in the cupcake recipe with strongly brewed coffee.
Cake flour: I highly, highly recommend using cake flour for this recipe, but if you don’t want to buy any you can use all purpose flour. Please note that these cupcakes will not be as soft or moist when using AP flour instead of cake flour.
FAQs
How can I tell when my cupcakes are done?Â
You can test your cupcakes two ways. First, you can test them by poking a toothpick down the center. Your toothpick should come out clean or with a couple crumbs. If there is batter on your toothpick, place the cupcakes back in the oven for 2 minutes at a time until the toothpick comes out clean.
Second, you can gently press your finger on the top of the cupcake. If it springs back, the cupcake is ready. If your finger leaves a dent then the cupcakes need another couple minutes. This is my favorite method!
How do I know if my frosting is the right consistency?
Your frosting should be thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon or spatula upside down. If you tilt your spatula and the frosting starts sliding off then you likely need more powdered sugar. Or, it could be that your butter was too soft. If your frosting can’t easily spread across a plate or your bowl using a spatula then your buttercream is probably too thick. Trying to put this frosting on a cupcake is either going to not fit through the piping bag or tear the cupcake if you try to spread it with a knife or spatula.Â
How to tell if your butter is the right temperature
You should be able to press down on your butter and leave a dent with minimal effort. If you have to press down pretty hard then your butter is not soft enough. If your butter looks melted or really greasy then it’s too soft.Â
Make ahead/store
You can make the actual cake up to two days in advance. Just make sure you wrap them tightly. You can also make the frosting ahead of time and leave it at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge covered for up to 1 week. When the cupcakes are fully frosted, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for 4-5 days.
More recipes you’ll love
The Best Bailey’s Irish Cream Brownies for Every Chocolate Lover
The Best Ever Boozy Hot Chocolate Recipe
Guinness Cupcakes With Bailey’s Frosting
Ingredients
- 100 g Water 100 ml or 2/5ths cup
- 118 g Guinness + more for soaking the cupcakes 1/2 cup
- 1 teaspoon Instant espresso powder NOT ground coffee.
- 67 g Cocoa powder 3/4 cup + 1 Tbs
- 125 g Granulated sugar 1/2 cup + 6 Tbs
- 125 g Brown sugar 1/2 cup + 2 tsp
- 118 g Vegetable or canola oil 1/2 cup
- 2 Large Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 133 g Cake flour 1 cup + 2 Tbs + 1 tsp
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Bailey's Frosting
- 225 g Unsalted butter Softened, 2 sticks
- 360 g Powdered sugar 3 cups
- 3 Tablespoon Bailey's Irish cream Room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Espresso powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 muffin tins with 16 cupcake liners in total.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the Guinness and water together for about 45 seconds – 1 minute until it is hot enough to dissolve the espresso powder.
- Once your Guinness and water mixture is hot enough, add your espresso powder and cocoa powder. Mix with a fork or whisk until the cocoa powder and espresso powder have dissolved and you're left with a brownie batter- like mixture. Set aside to cool.
- In your large mixing bowl, beat together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and oil together for about 1-2 minutes until fully combined.
- In a separate small bowl, add the eggs and vanilla. Use a fork to lightly beat the mixture until both egg yolks are broken up.
- Add the eggs and vanilla into your butter and sugar mixture in two parts, beating each one thoroughly until fully incorporated.
- In a separate medium bowl, add your cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined.
- Add your flour mixture to the large mixing bowl and beat on low-medium speed. When the flour starts to mix in, slowly stream in the chocolate and Guinness mixture. Mix until just combined. Your batter will be pretty runny.
- Use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop your batter into each cupcake liner, filling them about 2/3rds of the way full.
- Bake at 350 F for 15-22 minutes until the top springs back when gently poked or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a fork to poke holes in each cupcake. Pierce each cupcake three times. Then, pour 1/4 teaspoon of Guinness on top of each cupcake. (Skip this step if you don't enjoy the taste of Guinness)
For the Bailey's Frosting
- Use the paddle attachment to beat softened butter for 3-5 minutes until pale and fluffy and there are no lumps of butter.
- Add powdered sugar, espresso powder, vanilla, and Bailey's to the mixing bowl. Start at a slow speed until the powdered sugar starts to combine. Then, beat on high speed for 3-5 minutes until all ingredients are combined and the frosting looks light and airy.
- If your frosting is too thick, add milk or Bailey's 1/2 Tablespoon at a time until desired consistency. If your frosting is too runny, add powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time.
- Scrape down your bowl with a rubber spatula and beat one last time for about 10 seconds to make sure everything is well mixed.
