Guinness Ganache Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

GET READY. This dessert is good. Chocolate, ganache, cream cheese frosting, and Guinness stout. Decadent, yes. But, perfect for after a half-marathon. Or a full day of St. Patty-ing it up. Also great after a weekday run club (shout out to Marathon Sports Run Club in Boston. I’ll be bringing these (if they last) to this week’s post-run club party!).

So, these cupcakes have made the round on food blogs, but these are a tad different since I used Nigella Lawson’s stout cake recipe as the basis, and turned that into cupcakes. They turned out great, but to me, cupcakes are a lot of work compared to a straight-up cake. Portioning out all those individual cupcake liners and filling them one at a time…anyone has a good tip on how to fill them faster?

Enjoy these cupcakes (or cake) as you sip your Guinness on Tuesday. I already enjoyed mine after my half marathon (first one in over a year! Check our Instagram @firsttimefoods for photo evidence), so now I’m set for a month in terms of chocolate dessert. They are so decadent, so enjoy them in moderation. But do enjoy! Sláinte!

Guinness Ganache Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

A Guinness ganache cupcake decadent enough to enjoy after a great accomplishment.

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 18-20 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Yield: 24 regular-sized cupcakes or 12 jumbo-sized or 1 9-inch single-layer cake

Ingredients

Batter:

• 1 cup Guinness stout
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/8 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda

Chocolate Ganache:

• 2 1/2 ounces bittersweet (or semisweet) chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons Irish Whiskey

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 1/4 cups powdered/confectioners’ sugar
• 8 ounces of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2-3 tablespoons milk (your choice of dairy or almond or coconut)

Instructions

For the batter:

1. Preheat oven to 350* F.
2. In a large saucepan, combine butter and Guinness. Heat over medium-low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat.
3. Add cocoa and sugar, and whisk well to blend.
4. In a bowl, combine sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and mix well to combine. Add to Guinness mixture.
5. Add flour and baking soda to the Guinness mixture, and whisk again until smooth.
6. Pour into cupcake liners, and leave ~1″ of room from the top.
7. Cook for 18-20 minutes, or until a knife pushed into such a cupcake comes out dry.
8. Cool the cupcakes thoroughly on a cookie sheet.

 Cook the ganache:

1. Transfer the chocolate to a heatproof bowl and finely chop it.
2. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave or on the stovetop until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute.
3. Using a rubber spatula, stir until smooth.
4. Stir in the butter and whiskey until well mixed.
5. Let the ganache cool until thick, about the consistency of chocolate pudding.
6. Cut out the centers of the cupcakes (save the crumbles for cake pops!) and fill them with ganache. Fill with a piping bag or a spoon.

For the cream cheese frosting:

1. Using a stand mixer, whisk cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and blend until smooth. Add milk, and mix until smooth.
2. Frost the tops of the cupcakes. Garnish with cocoa powder – use a mesh strainer to sift the cocoa gently over the tops of the cupcakes.
3. Enjoy!