Boozy Chocolate Cupcakes {Valentine's Day}

This Valentine's Day Beth and I decided to bring you two posts to capture the various relationship statuses that are held by twenty-somethings.  Bethany brought you a post about cooking with your special someone (because she has the best husband ever) and I am bringing you a recipe that ends in chocolate and a lot of left over Irish booze (because I have cats).

This is a recipe for decadent chocolate, stout cupcakes filled with a whiskey ganache and topped with an Irish crème frosting.  This recipe may seem more appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day but trust me, the chocolate and liquor are more suitable for the single guys and gals struggling through all the romance Valentine’s brings. 

These cupcakes might set you back a little bit in price but just think of all the money you save not having a significant other.  So go ahead, splurge on this decadent chocolate treat and some Fancy Feast for your cat(s).  You won’t have to share the left over Bailey’s with anyone but yourself! 

Valentine's Cupcakes for the Single Twenty-Something

Yields 20 to 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes

1 cup of stout (I prefer the traditional Guinness)

1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 ½ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp salt

2 large eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling

8 oz bittersweet chocolate

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 Tbls butter, room temperature

2 tsps Irish whiskey (Jameson, anyone?)

Bailey’s Frosting

3 to 4 cups powder sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

3-4 Tbls Bailey’s Irish Crème

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners.  

Bring stout and butter to simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.  Let cool until slightly warm.

Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream.  Add stout and chocolate to egg mixture and beat to combine. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl to blend.  Add flour mixture and beat on slow.  Using a rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined.  Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 of the way up.  Bake for about 17 minutes, rotating front to back half way through.  Make sure to test the center of the cupcakes and that the tester (toothpick or fork) comes out clean.  Cool cupcakes completely (important for ganache filling and frosting).

Chop the chocolate and put in a heatproof bowl.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering and pour it over the chocolate.  Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth.  (If the chocolate is not melted all the way, you can return it to a double-boiler to melt what remains.) Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.

Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped. You can speed this process up by putting it in the fridge but be sure to stir it every 10 minutes. Meanwhile, using your 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, about 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon will help you get the center out. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

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. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys and whip it until combined (I added some extra chocolate because I could). Frost and decorate the cupcakes to your liking (added a dab of caramel).

Get your cats that Fancy Feast you promised them, grab the left over Guinness (or Jameson) and a boozy cupcake, pop in Love Actually, and DIG IN!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Remember to share it with all the people (and animals) you love!

Love for all-

Whitney, Tobias, and Deaner (the best kitties in the world)