Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream Frosting

So for St. Patrick's day, I also wanted a yummy dessert and what is better than cupcakes???

For the Cupcakes

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup Guinness Stout beer
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup light brown sugar packed
1 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting:
3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
3 - 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
pinch of salt
4 Tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream
2 Tbsp heavy cream

Heat the butter, Guinness, cocoa powder and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until melted. Remove from heat and let cool to room temp.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.

To the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl), add salt, flour, granulated sugar, and baking soda. Stir together to mix.

Add in cooled beer mixture and beat (slowly at first - then on medium speed) for about 1 minute.

Add in eggs and sour cream, beat on medium speed for another 1-2 minutes.

Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter and to fill each muffin cup about 2/3 of the way.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and then remove to cool completely on a cooling rack.

For the Frosting:

In a stand mixer cream butter until light and fluffy.

Add salt and sifted powdered sugar. Beat on low speed until combined.  It will be pretty thick. 

Add Bailey's and heavy cream and beat on medium speed another 2-3 minutes.

Add frosting to a piping bag fitted with a star tip frost cupcakes.  Decorate frosted cupcakes with festive sprinkles.  I used a Shamrock mix, green sugar and gold sugar.

These came out really good!!!  I would definitely make them again!!!

Irish Soda Bread

I also made this to go along with dinner.

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups sour cream
2 egg (room temp)
3/4 cups of raisins

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs and sour cream.

Add the egg/sour cream mixture to the dry ingredients.  With a wooden spoon carefully combine the ingredients.  If it gets to sticky, use your hands to gently mix the ingredients.  Then gently work in the raisins.

Spray a 9 inch spring form pan with cooking spray.

Place the dough in the spring form pan and gently pat it down.  If the dough is still sticky, you may sprinkle some extra flour on top.

With a sharp knife make a criss cross shape in the top of the dough.  (Do not go to deep though)

Bake for 50 minutes until light golden brown.  Serve warm with softened butter.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Since yesterday was St. Patrick's Day the Irish members of my family wanted to have Corned Beef and Cabbage.

I found a good slow cooker recipe on Food Network.  I did make some changes.

2 stalks of celery cut in half
4 or 5 carrots, peeled and cut into half or thirds
6 or 7 red potatoes cut into quarters
1 Four pound Flat Cut corned beef brisket.  The flat cut has less fat than the point cut
1 bottle of good dark beer.  I am not a fan of stout so I used a bottle of Samuel Adams Boston Larger
4 cups of water (approx)
1 medium head of green cabbage, cut into wedges

Place your veggies in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Wash the corned beef brisket and then place it on the veggies. 

Add the bottle of beer and enough water to cover the meat.

Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours.

Remove the meat from the crock pot and cover with foil and keep warm in the oven.

Add the cabbage wedges to the crock pot and cook on high  for approximately 30 minutes or until softened but still a bit crispy.

Serve with Horseradish sauce.

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup drained prepared horseradish
dash Franks Red Hot
salt and pepper to taste


Whip the cream until soft peaks form.  Then fold in the rest of the ingredients.

Shamrock Cookies

I had the cutest conversation last night with Victoria. She said that all the valentine cookies were gone and we should make some new ones and would like St. Patricks day cookies. Off we went to the laundry room to see what cookie cutters I had, hmm no luck. Since I had to run to walmart this morning I found a St. Patty set and some more SPRINKLES!

So when I was telling Marcel about our little conversation he laughed and said it sounds like when I go to him and say "I have been thinking" or "I have an idea" LOL

Butter Cookie Dough

1 cup salted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons whipping cream (I just used light cream)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract (I didn't use that, today I used Lemon extract)
3 cups unbleached flour (I had to use a bit more)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a mixer combine butter and sugar. Add egg, cream, vanilla, and almond extract all at once and thoroughly blend.

In a separate bowl stir together flour and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and blend.

Roll out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch and cut with a cookie cutter. Bake on a greased cookie sheet 8 to 12 minutes and cool on a rack.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies. (Dough does not need to be chilled before using.)

As you can tell from the pictures, I tinted half the dough with some Wilton Kelly Green and Leaf Green.