Daughter Amy sent me this recipe for Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes. When I asked where she got it, here’s what she said:

 

“A gal at work had them.  Whip (her husband) and I split the one I took home.  They are awesome, as Whip put it!  They are wicked too!  I thought you might want to add it into your recipe book.

 

She got it from her hairdresser. It is one of those recipes that gets passed around and people alter it to suit their tastes.”

 

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

The Chocolate Cupcakes

 

1 c stout (such as Guinness)

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter

3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder

2 c all purpose flour

2 c sugar

1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 large eggs

2/3 c sour cream

 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners.

 

1. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.

2.  Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

3. Whisk flour, sugar, and baking soda in large bowl to blend.

4. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend.

5. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed.

6. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined.

7. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way.

 

Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 17 minutes.

 

Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

 

The Ganache Filling

 

8 ozs bittersweet chocolate

2/3 c heavy cream

2 tsp butter, room temperature

1 to 2 tsps Irish whiskey

 

1. Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl.

2. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.)

3. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.

 

Fill the cupcakes:

 

1. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes).

2. Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out 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. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”.

3.  Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top. A plastic bag with the corner snipped off will also work.

 

Baileys Frosting

 

3 to 4 cups confections sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperatue

3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)

 

1.  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, a few tablespoons at a time.

2. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) 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.

 

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.)