I would apologize for the tardiness of this posting but have decided to take full advantage of pointing the finger this week and blaming Irene for my lack of access to electronics over the weekend. I've spent the last few weeks reminiscing about exactly where I was a year ago during my trip to Europe. It just so happens that this past week was spent traveling around the Emerald Isle as my European vacation was winding down, so I've been in a bit of an Irish mood lately which is why I decided to dedicate this weeks treat to the ol' Roisin Dubh. Week 14 consists of a Guiness and Oreo crumb dark chocolate cake filled with a Jameson dark chocolate ganache, topped with a Bailey's buttercream and shamrock sprinkles. (Modified from http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/03/14/irish-car-bomb-cupcakes/)
Cupcake
1 cup Guiness Irish Stout
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup plain yogurt (I used homemade)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oreo crumbs
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease pan(s).
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the Guiness and butter, whisking until the butter is completely melted; remove from heat. Whisk in the unsweetened cocoa powder until smooth and allow the mixture to cool. In a small dish combine the yogurt and vanilla, set aside. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Once the Guiness mixture has come to about room temperature beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients to the Guiness mixture in thirds alternating with the yogurt/vanilla mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Once combined fold in the oreo crumbs. Pour into pan(s) and place in the pre-heated oven. This recipe yielded 16 regular size cupcakes and 6 minis, baked at 15 and 11 minutes respectively.
Whiskey Ganache
8 ounces dark chocolate chips
2/3 cups whipping cream
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp Jameson whiskey
Place the chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream to a simmer and pour over the dark chocolate; allow to sit for 1 minute. Using a spatula, stir from the center out. Add butter and whiskey, stirring until combined. Allow the mixture to cool until thick/pipe-able. Placing it in the fridge will help to speed this up.
Once the cupcakes are cooled, use a piping tip to cut a whole into the center of each, filling individual cakes with the ganache. This recipe produced enough ganache for all 22 cupcakes and then some (excellent on ice cream).
Bailey's Frosting
1 1/2 cups icing/confectioner/powder sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp whipping cream
1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
Whisk together the sugar and butter until well blended, light and fluffy. Add vanilla and cream, continuously beating for 2 minutes. Add the Bailey's and beat on medium speed for 2-5 minutes, adding more sugar or Bailey's as required to obtain a piping consistency. This recipe yielded JUST enough for the 10 cupcakes I pass out to the judges.
Sprinkle each with appropriate sprinkles/jimmies, I had shamrock ones on hand.
The Panel
The cupcake-ivores ate this one right up! Hands down, everyone agreed that it was super moist and chocolatey, the latter however was not in everyone's favour (Cocoa and Crazy Cakes weren't overly impressed due to their lack of appreciation for chocolate cake). Though ability to taste the Bailey's seemed to differ amongst individuals, everyone agreed that the oreos were lost, Sugar Princess recommended sprinkling some over the frosting for added effect. The Jameson ganache was highly regarded, some saying the cakes needed just a little more.
Kupcake: "This is my dream cupcake!"
Fathom's Chef: "PERFECT"
Peanut: "I'm not a fan of baileys but frosting marvelous, overall very good
My comments
I was very excited about the final product this week and I think it reflected in the judges comments and ratings. Though I haven't made many, this was by far my best tasting and looking chocolate cake to date. The frosting was also one of the best I have produced, both looking and tasting, considering there was alcohol in the frosting. I had absolutely no complaints about this one other than during prep not cooling the ganache long enough. When I piped them into the cakes they were slightly absorbed because the consistency was still somewhat runny. Otherwise, this cupcake was da' BOMB!
The cupcake-ivores ate this one right up! Hands down, everyone agreed that it was super moist and chocolatey, the latter however was not in everyone's favour (Cocoa and Crazy Cakes weren't overly impressed due to their lack of appreciation for chocolate cake). Though ability to taste the Bailey's seemed to differ amongst individuals, everyone agreed that the oreos were lost, Sugar Princess recommended sprinkling some over the frosting for added effect. The Jameson ganache was highly regarded, some saying the cakes needed just a little more.
Kupcake: "This is my dream cupcake!"
Fathom's Chef: "PERFECT"
Peanut: "I'm not a fan of baileys but frosting marvelous, overall very good
My comments
I was very excited about the final product this week and I think it reflected in the judges comments and ratings. Though I haven't made many, this was by far my best tasting and looking chocolate cake to date. The frosting was also one of the best I have produced, both looking and tasting, considering there was alcohol in the frosting. I had absolutely no complaints about this one other than during prep not cooling the ganache long enough. When I piped them into the cakes they were slightly absorbed because the consistency was still somewhat runny. Otherwise, this cupcake was da' BOMB!