The Event: Iron Chef Potluck (ingredient: “spirits”)
The Recipe: Guinness Cupcakes with Irish Whiskey Ganache Filling and Baileys Buttercream
The Verdict: while I announced the following on Twitter pre-baking… “Baking cupcakes filled w/whiskey ganache & topped w/Baileys buttercream. In other words, cupcakes I’m 98% sure I won’t eat. #5YearOldPalate” …I ended up eating…uh, several.
Cake: Loved. Delicious and moist and not Guinness-ey.
Frosting: Liked. A little grainy and definitely Baileys-ey, but sweet enough that I could eat it anyway.
Filling: Not good. The ganache set up too hard (heh-heh) to be a cupcake filling. It was like a solid truffle in the middle of the cupcake and made the cupcakes difficult to eat. I gave my fillings to Dave.
The New Obsession: Developing a signature cupcake recipe. Stay tuned!
*The silly memory these cupcakes bring to mind: Years ago, Dave and I spent St. Patrick’s Day in Philadelphia with friends from college. They were insane. John Boy (don’t ask) kept insisting that the guys drink only Guinness and Guinness-based drinks all night. When everyone else tired of Guinness, John Boy encouraged them to keep drinking it by exclaiming: “Guinness for Jesus!” I laughed so much my face hurt.
Why did you laugh when John Boy exclaimed “Cupcakes for Jesus”? It was ST. PATRICK’S DAY, right?
You have me there I suppose. I laughed at John Boy a lot, because he was always crazy amusing. I knew better than to drink Guinness with them though. A.) Yuck and 2.) the only time I ever drank so much that I got sick was when I let John Boy fix my drinks.
I’m definitely staying tuned for your very own cupcake recipe. How fun! And while these sound delicious (except for the hard filling part), I’m more excited to try the recipe YOU develop. YUM!
Uh-oh, now I’m feeling the pressure. I have two ideas to pursue though!
omg, I love it! Guiness for Jesus!
I know, right? Makes me want to just shout it out in public for no reason. Maybe I’ll try that on my commute tomorrow.
I was recently introduced to how easy it is to make ganache.
I now weigh 485lbs.
But gosh darnit, I’m a very happy 485lbs.
Throw some whiskey in it, then you’ll be a drunk and happy 485 lbs!
I’m eager to follow the quest. I know they say “cupcakes are sooo 2011” but I’m loyal to the core over tiny cakes.
This also reminds me of a time I was in Tallahassee at a gourmet cupcake shop on St. Patty’s Day. Anyway, these grumpy old ladies were requesting St. Patrick’s Day themed cupcakes. They girl behind the counter pointed them towards green iced jobbies, green sprinkled jobbies, and a Guiness/Bailey’s jobbie. The old ladies said, “But your FB page said you had St. Patrick’s Day themed cupcakes!” The employee looked confused and politely tried to explain the green ones were made for St. Patty’s Day. The ladies kept being difficult and looking behind the counter as if they were suspecting she was hiding product or something. Finally, I said “What do you want? Leprechauns ground up in your cupcakes?!?!?!” Jesus. Old people suck. 😉
I know, I love cupcakes. I can’t help myself. I love regular cake too, but who’s going to go out and buy a whole cake or make a big cake just because they feel like having some dessert that night?
Your story made me laugh out loud. They probably thought you were so rude, but they were being giant douches. Way to ruin a pleasant cupcake outing.
As usual, I’m reading all of the blogs I follow days after they were posted. As usual, I laughed out loud reading your post. Love the cupcake photo, and aside from the too-hard ganache, the cupcake sounds pretty delish. Can’t wait to find out what your signature cupcake is going to be.
Thanks! I’m toying with a couple of different ideas. Maybe I’ll test both! I’d say that cupcake baking could be my true calling, but the D.C. area has totally got cupcakeries covered.
That sounds completely delicious except for the hard fillings. Sounds like a recipe worth playing with, though. And I loved Guiness for Jesus! It’s amazing what somebody will say when drunk.
I can see trying those cupcakes again. After messing around with my signature cupcakes ideas that is.
Yeah, the Guinness saying has a certain ring to it, eh?
I love Guinness, but have never heard of cupcakes made out of it. I may have to try it! Without the ganache, as per your suggestion.
The cake is super moist. Have to think the beer contributes to that. I’d be curious to know what you think if you try them.