South Florida

I have been looking for an opportunity to make Guinness cake, or cupcakes, or brownies for quite awhile, and I finally found it. On Thursday, March 1 at 1:30 eastern time, I am going to be talking about food blogs with Linda Gassenheimer and Joseph Cooper on WLRN, the NPR affiliate in South Florida. I wanted to come up with an easy recipe to share, and this is it!

You can listen in (and find out if they like the cupcakes) by going to www.wlrn.org and clicking on the live audio feed.

Now, back to the cupcakes. St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, and this is the perfect dessert to follow up corned beef and cabbage or any Irish feast you plan to serve. The cake is very light and moist, with a mellow stout flavor that is the perfect complement to the cocoa. They are not overly sweet, so the espresso buttercream is a perfect topper. This frosting has a light coffee scent, but is mild enough for anyone who is not a coffee lover. It is absolutely irresistible on the cupcakes and helps bring out the Guinness flavor.

I just got the name, “O’Hara,” by marriage, so if you don’t want to take my word for it, my Irish husband cannot stop eating these cupcakes.

Guinness Cupcakes with Espresso Cream Frosting
Cakes adapted from a recipe from The Detroit Free Press via Cupcakes Take the Cake and from a recipe by Dave Lieberman from Dave’s Dinners. Frosting adapted from The Betty Crocker Cookbook.
You can find the instant espresso powder for the frosting at specialty stores and many supermarkets. I ordered mine from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalogue.

Makes 24 cupcakes

For cupcakes:
1 stick unsalted butter
12 oz. Guinness
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. granulated sugar
¾ c. natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
¾ c. sour cream
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill two 12-count muffin pans with paper baking cups.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, Guinness and vanilla. Stir occasionally until butter is melted. Pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.

In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, gradually combine with the Guinness mixture in three additions. Beat in the sour cream, then beat in the eggs one by one.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup about three-quarters full. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes (mine took 25) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Leave in the pan to cool for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on a wire rack. Frost when cooled completely.

For frosting:
3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. butter (5 1/3 tbs.), cut into cubes and softened
1 ½ tsp. instant espresso powder dissolved in 3 tbs. water

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer on low speed to combine. Pour in the espresso mixture and continue beating on medium-high until frosting is smooth and creamy. If frosting is too thick, add water a couple drops at a time to reach desired consistency. Makes enough for 24 cupcakes or an 8-9 inch two-layer cake.

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