Carbomb Cupcakes

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope that everyone is enjoying their day and staying safe. If you're like me and staying in today whip up some great recipes in the kitchen. It's time for some boozy baking!

Other St. Patrick's Day Blogs: Lucky Charm Doughnuts, Poutine with Guinness Gravy and St. Patrick's Quiche.

The drink is traditionally a pint of Guinness, and a shot of Bailey's/Jameson. The shot is dropped into the pint. You have to chug the Carbomb before the Bailey's curdles. The name comes from the fact that dropping the shot glass into the other drink is called a bomb shot (think Jägerbomb or Sake Bomb) and that all of the ingredients in the drink are Irish.  I've never personally had the drink, but I've seen people drink them. I've made these cupcakes before and this is one of J's favorite recipes that I make.

This recipe comes from Will Cook for Friends.

Disclaimer:
After reading the comments people have written on other blogs which have posted this recipe, I feel the need to add a disclaimer. If you're reading this from another country (hello it's great to have you) I know that Irish Carbomb is an offensive name for a drink and it is not at all my intention to offend anyone. In America it is a really popular drink and a very recognizable name and that's why the cupcakes are named Carbomb Cupcakes, to maintain the connection between the drink and the cupcakes.


Ingredients:

For the cake:

-1 cup Guinness stout, or other dark beer

-2 sticks unsalted butter

-3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

-2 cups (loosely filled, not packed) all-purpose flour

-2 cups white sugar

-1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

-3/4 tsp. sea salt

-2 large eggs

-2/3 cup sour cream

For the ganache:

-8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped or in chip form (semisweet, bittersweet, use what you like)

-2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

-2 TBSP unsalted butter, room temperature

-1-2 TBSP Irish Whiskey

For the buttercream:

-3 cups confectioner's sugar

-1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
-1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream

I know Jack Daniel's isn't Irish...but that's the whisky we had on hand.

Cupcakes:

Combine the butter and Guinness, bring to a simmer.
Add the cocoa powder.
Remove from heat and let cool.

Drink the Guinness or pass it to a friend...or in my case pass it to your dad.

Using the mixer, mix together the sour cream and eggs.

Add the chocolate Guinness mixture. 

Mix until combined.

   

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Slowly incorporate into the wet ingredients.  

Lick the beaters. 

Batter is ready to go.
Spoon into the prepared liners, bake at 350 for 24 minutes.

Ganache: 

Warm the cream until simmering, pour over the chopped chocolate.

Stir until smooth and all of the chocolate is melted.

Decorations:

If  you want to make little decorations for the cupcakes, you can pipe melted chocolate onto waxed paper.

  

I made non-filled ones too.

Assembling the Cupcakes:

Using a one inch cookie cutter remove the center of each cupcake.

Remove the center of each cupcake.

Pipe the ganache into the center of each cupcake. 

Almost done!

Frosting:

Make the Bailey's butter cream by beating the butter with a hand mixer for 2-3 minutes. Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar. Add the Bailey's and mix until just combined.

Pipe onto the cupcakes.

So close to being done! 

Finished Product:

Top with chocolate decorations or sprinkles if desired. 

I made these for a cupcake contest so I made decorations for all of them.

These were a hit like usual, everyone loved them and my dad said they were popular at the cupcake contest. The flavors blend perfectly together, the Guinness doesn't make the cupcakes too bitter, the flavor actually pairs really well with the chocolate. I think the whisky center is J's favorite part, but I enjoy the Bailey's frosting, it would be a great way to rim a martini glass.  

St. Patrick's Day Quiche

This is another great recipe for St. Patrick's Day. Our other recipes so far have been Lucky Charm Doughnuts and Poutine with Guinness Gravy. There are always a lot of dessert recipes themed for holidays, but I always really like when we can find a main dish that fits a holiday theme, and this one does fit really well. The idea comes from the blog Diamonds for Dessert. We didn't have disposable pans to make the clover shape like the original blog did, so we made our own shapes out of foil and it worked pretty well.

Ingredients:

Crust

-1 1/4 cups flour
-1/2 cup butter
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 cup ice water

Filling

-5 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained
-2 eggs
-1/4 cup half-and-half
-1/4 cup grated gruyere
-1/8 cup grated parmesan
-1.5 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
-1/4 cup diced onion (white, red, or green onions)
-salt and pepper

Fold over aluminum foil so it is a little thicker.
Shape it into a clover shape.

Add the shape to a pie pan.

Make the crust. Cut the butter into small slices.

Mix together the flour, salt and water with the butter.

Roll out the crust with a rolling pin.

Cut around the shape you made.

Place the crust in the bottom of the pan.
Take the leftover crust and stand it up on the sides along the foil.

Line the inside of the foil all the way around.

Now continue the clover shape by putting crust through the middle.

Make the filling. Mix half and half, egg, cream cheese, salt and pepper.

Add the spinach, cheese, and onion.

Add the filing to the crust.
Bake for 20 minutes at 425.

Take the foil off the outside of the quiche and cook again
for another 10 minutes to cook the outside of the crust.

Everyone really liked this. It was great that it turned out green, and it did look like a clover, which was perfect for St. Patrick's Day.

Poutine with Guinness Gravy

9,000 views, thanks for all of the support! 

When I took French in high school we always loved making poutine for class. It is delicious and cheesy, the perfect comfort food combination. This recipe from Food for My Family uses Guinness as the gravy base giving this French-Canadian dish an Irish twist.

Check out our other St. Patrick's Day blogs: Lucky Charm Doughnuts.

This blog features photography from Kayla, check out her website here.

Other Blogs Featuring Kayla: Twice Baked Red Potatoes, Corn Risotto, King Cake Cocktail, Smore's Cake, Rust City Buffalo Sauce and Lucky Charm Doughnuts. 

Ingredients:
Gravy
-2 tablespoons butter
-1/4 cup finely minced onion
-2 teaspoons strong Dijon mustard
-2 teaspoons cornstarch
-1 cup vegetable broth
-1 cup Guinness Draught
-salt and pepper to taste

To Serve
-3-4 cups french fries
-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

For the gravy, heat the butter in a small saucepan add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the mustard.

While the gravy is getting started slice your potatoes.

Fry them.

Drain them on a paper towel. 

Put the french fries on a plate.

Finish the gravy: Mix the corn starch with 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth until dissolved. Add to the mixture on the stove, add the Guinness and the additional vegetable broth, bring to a boil, reduce and simmer until thick.

Pour into a gravy boat.

   

Pour the Guinness gravy over the fries and cheese.

Make sure to get it all over the fries. 

You probably won't use all of the gravy. 

Add salt and pepper.

Share with friends, don't bother with extra plates, this is a stand over one plate kind of appetizer.

I'm not sure why but the men liked these a lot better than the women. I personally don't like Guinness...or any beer for that matter so I think that's why I didn't love this recipe as much as I usually love poutine. Overall, if you're a fan of Guinness I think you'll enjoy this recipe, if not I would recommend trying this with your favorite gravy or maybe substitute your favorite dark beer.