The One With the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes With Bailey's Caramel Frosting

While at home in Idaho with my family, my brother and I hit up his favorite little coffee shop, Bucer's. I saw a little Guinness Chocolate cake in the deli case and decided that was as good a lunch as any and gave it a try. It was pretty good... so I thought I'd have a go at making my own. Of course, I needed an occasion and was pretty excited to bring this to my brother-in-law's birthday party. It was also an engagement party because said brother-in-law just proposed to his girlfriend and they're getting married in October! So it was indeed a cause for celebration. And the perfect debut for the first trial of Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes. (And also just in time for Saint Patrick's day... if you're into that...)

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

• Betty Crocker's Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
• 1 1/4 cup Guinness Extra Stout Beer
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 eggs

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with liners.
Combine cake mix, Guinness, and olive oil with an electric mixer. Gently beat in eggs one at a time. Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling only slightly over 1/2 full. The Guinness will make your cupcakes rise more than average, so don't overfill your cupcake liners. Bake for 14-17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool for five minutes in pan and then for fifteen minutes on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the frosting:

(I couldn't decide between two frosting choices. Personally, I prefer the buttercream, because I'm a buttercream kinda gal. But many taste testers really liked the cream cheese frosting. So I guess it comes down to what kind of frosting you generally prefer. The buttercream is sweeter, a nice balance to the bitterness the Guinness brings out. And the cream cheese is creamier and has a stronger Bailey's flavor. Just for fun, I thought I'd share both with you.)

Bailey's Caramel Buttercream Frosting

• 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar, loosely packed (1 pound)
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 2 Tablespoons Baiely's Irish Cream with Hint of Caramel

Cream together butter and powdered sugar. Add milk and Bailey's Caramel until frosting is smooth and spreadable. If you need it to be softer, add milk or Bailey's Caramel (for a stronger flavor) one tablespoon at a time until you have reached your desired consistency.

Or perhaps you would prefer a cream cheese frosting:

Bailey's Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3-6 Tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream With a Hint of Caramel 

Cream together cream cheese, sugar and Bailey's Caramel, beginning with 3 tablespoons. Add Baiely's Caramel, one tablespoon at a time, until you have reached a consistency and flavor you like.

Assemble your cupcakes and refrigerate for 3 hours or so before serving. The longer they sit, the stronger the Guinness flavor becomes.

I'm thinking these should be made into some microcakes. You know, to go with a microbrew. At like a fancy pub or something. It's in the works.

I linked this recipe up at Tastetastic Thursday on A Little Nosh and Tip-Toe Thru Tuesday at Crayon Freckles.