Random Chocolate Cupcake, Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When asked to share a cupcake recipe representative of what attendees of the Cupcakes and Cocktails benefit for Bake a Wish might encounter, pastry chef Jessica Forkner — founder and head baker at Objects of Confection — obliged.

She told us that ” It is by far my most requested boozy cupcake”

Jessica adapted the recipe from one that comes from the blog, Smitten Kitchen. Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen head cook and bottle washer, calls these intoxicating treats: Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes.

Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 cup Guinness or other stout beer
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons Jameson’s or other Irish whiskey

Irish Cream Frosting

• 3 1/2 to 4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 tablespoons Bailey’s or other Irish cream liqueur

Directions

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool at least 10 minutes.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. If it still isn’t melted, pop in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.

Fill the cupcakes: Using an apple corer, melon baller or a knife, cut a hole in the center of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom – aim for 2/3 of the way. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top. (You can also put the ganache in a plastic zip-top bag and cut a hole in one corner.)

Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and allow it to fully incorporate into the butter after each addition. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Bailey’s and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes.

Do ahead: You can bake the cupcakes a week or two in advance and store them, well wrapped, in the freezer. You can also fill them before you freeze them. They also keep filled – or filled and frosted – in the fridge for a day. (Longer, they will start to get stale.)

Jessica Forkner

About Jessica Forkner and Objects of Confection:

Objects of Confection specializes in hand-crafted cake balls, truffles and other treats dessert fans will love. Pastry chef and owner, Jessica Forkner, also volunteers for Bake A Wish and will be participating in the Cupcakes & Cocktails cupcake taste-off this July 25. Visit www.objectsofconfection.com to learn more!