Hearts, stars, and rainbows!

HAPPY SAINT PATRICKS DAY, EVERYONE!!!!!!!

I spent a lot of time figuring out what I wanted to do for Saint Patricks day. When I saw these Guinness cupcakes posted MANY times on Pinterest, I figured I had to go for it. For a personal touch I added the lucky charm marshmallows cause who doesn't like those. As for the recipe, most were the same or with slight variations. The one I followed was the one from Brown Eyed Baker cause that blog is AMAZING! I left out the ganache filling because of time constraints. I decided to do a bit more explaining on mine because I thought the recipe I followed was a bit too much trial and error. Since cupcakes from scratch (especially involving different ingredients than normal) can be complicated as it is, I figured it might be good to provide a little more explanation. These cupcakes are particularly fitting for Saint Patricks day, but you can definitely make them for a birthday or other occasion (maybe replace the lucky charms with sprinkles or a glaze). 

For the cupcakes:

What you need:

1 cup Guinness stout

1 cup unsalted butter (room temp.)

3/4 cup cocoa powder (Dutch process if possible... I used Hershey's and it worked great)

2 eggs

2/3 cup sour cream 

2 cups all purpose flour 

2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

Cupcake tin- Recipe makes about 24 cupcakes. My tin only holds 12 so I had to do 2 batches.

Cupcake liners

Heavy bottom frying pan

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Line cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

In a medium heavy bottom sauce pan melt 1 cup unsalted butter over medium heat. 

When butter is mostly melted add 1 cup Guinness to the butter and stir. 

Let the butter and Guinness simmer, but not boil. 

While it's still simmering add cocoa powder and whisk until it is smooth. 

Remove from heat and let cool while you work on the dry ingredients.

In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 3/4 tsp salt. 

Mix with a fork until they are completely combined and set aside.

If you have an electronic mixer, use it to whip together 2 eggs and 2/3 cup sour cream. Add Guinness mixture (make sure it has cooled for at least 10 mins) and whip until combined.

Slowly add flour mixture to Guinness mixture using your electric mixer (use dough hook attachment if possible). Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula to make sure all of the ingredients gets mixed. 

Pour batter into cupcake liners filling them 3/4 of the way to the top.

Bake for 16-17 minutes. Really try not to peek. Let them cook. If your oven runs hot (like mine) I checked at 15, but it still took mine just about 17 mins.

Remove and set aside to cool. 

For the frosting:

What you need:

2 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature... For real. Leave it out for quite a while to get this or warm it with your hands)

5 cups powdered sugar

6 tablespoons baileys Irish cream

Gallon sized plastic bags

What you do: 

When butter is correct temperature put into a bowl and whisk until smooth (several mintues).

Add 5 cups of powdered sugar to the butter and beat at a medium low speed until combined.

Slowly add 6 tbsp baileys Irish cream and whip for another 2-3 minutes until frosting is completely smooth. 

Put frosting into a gallon sized bag and work out the air bubbles.

Decorating:

What you need:

COOL cupcakes (DO NOT frost cupcakes when they are even remotely still warm or else the butter will melt and the frosting will just slide off)

Gallon ziplock bag filled with frosting 

Lucky charms (cereal picked out so you just have the marshmallows)

What you do:

Cut the tip off of the ziplock bag in the corner so that you have about a half an inch opening.

Twist the top of the bag so the frosting begins to come out.

Twist evenly and work clockwise from the outside to the center in a swirl. 

Top with 3-5 lucky charm marshmallows. 

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