Alright guys’n’gals, it’s time for another recipe!

This time, taking a little time-out from main-course recipes, to share a recent attempt at some Irish cream cupcakes with Irish Buttercream frosting.

I’d seen this recipe on Pinterest (yes, my new obsession!) and since I had all of the ingredients here at home, I decided to give it a try.  The recipe comes from one of my new favourite blogs to read, Yum and Yummer.  Kerry is a great writer and he writes about food – what more do you want in a blog?

Anyway, the recipe,

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 45 minutes total

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 2 3/4 unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup sour cream
• 10 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup Irish cream
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

For the buttercream frosting:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 6 tbsp Irish cream

For the truffles:

• 12 oz bittersweet chocolate (no more than 55% cacao, unless you prefer a more bitter flavor)
• 1/4 heavy cream
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 Irish cream
• 1 tbsp of butter
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Cupcake directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and mix together.  Sifting the dry ingredients first will ensure a lighter, softer cake.

In a separate bowl mix the butter, sugars and vanilla on medium for three minutes until light and fluffy.  Add one yolk at a time and beat until just incorporated.  Mix in dry ingredients until just incorporated.  Beat in Irish cream with a wooden spoon, making sure to not overbeat.

Ladle batter into cupcake cups and bake for 10 minutes or until you can prick the cupcake with a toothpick and it comes out fairly clean.  Don’t be afraid if it is slightly wet as the cupcakes will continue to bake a bit when removed from the oven.

Brush the top of the cupcakes with Irish cream to keep them moist while they cool.

While the cupcakes are cooling, you can start the truffle.

Truffle directions:

In a double boiler, melt the  chocolate until liquid and add the heavy cream and Irish cream until warm and well incorporated, making sure not to overheat.  Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool slightly before whisking in egg yolks one at a time.  Finally add the tablespoon of butter and transfer mixture to a freezer-safe bowl and freeze until set — it will not harden.  Using a melon baller (or good eyeballing!), roll the truffles into small balls and then roll into cocoa until well-coated and place back into the freezer while making your buttercream frosting.

Buttercream directions:

Mix together butter and sifted confectioners sugar until just incorporated and immediately add the Irish cream and mix for 15 to 30 seconds, making sure to just allow the ingredients to coalesce, not whip.

Using a pastry bag, decorate the cupcakes however you like and place truffle on top.  Serve with milk, because you’ll need it.  Remember, only serve these to adults.  Not because serving alcohol-based foods to kids is illegal, but because adults are the only ones who deserve it!

Comes from here – http://yumandyummer.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/irish-booze-infused-cupcakes-dont-mind-if-i-do/

A few things, Kerry recommended I added an additional 1/3 cup vegetable oil to the recipe, also, the recipe doesn’t indicate an idea of how many cupcakes to expect from this recipe (this normally tells me how ‘full’ to fill my cupcake cases!)

I went with the pinterest recommendation on the right, though I ended up resorting to the left, as this batter doesn’t rise a whole heck of a lot (which I learned the hard way), so, in spite of having a huge bowl of batter, it doesn’t go terribly far, so I’d guestimate that you get 2 dozen cupcakes out of the amount this recipe makes.  I tried for 3 dozen regular and 2 dozen mini and pretty much came out with half-cupcakes.

Advice: Aim for two dozen/24 cupcakes!

I wanted, so badly, for these cupcakes to be divine, however, I, personally felt somewhat disappointed.

I wasn’t happy with how the frosting came out (I think I need to work on my buttercream frosting technique!), I didn’t make the truffles (store bought!) and I thought the cupcakes themselves tasted a bit bland and dry (probably why the recipe says, ‘serve with milk’.

That said, though, Col, Sam and Magz all thought they tasted great, Sam did comment that they were very booze-y and suggested you don’t eat them when you’re driving or operating heavy machinery.

Unfortunately, I think this was a one-off recipe for me, even though everyone seemed to think they were pretty tasty!