Irish Princess Cupcakes.

It was a lovely Irish Day! Guinness (cupcakes) for breakfast and dessert, and some fun delivering of cupcakes. I decided to gift to two people: Michaela (lives in Pennsylvania) asked me to deliver cupcakes for her mother whose birthday is tomorrow and Keighlagh Donovan. She was kind enough to let me take her photo as the true Irish Princess for the Day. (Scroll down to see her smiling face!)

My Irish roots warrant a short story. This is the one day of the year, without fail, that my mother was happy from the morning until bedtime. My mother's mother was born in Ireland and my mother loved that she had a heritage to celebrate. She made corned beef and cabbage for dinner, she wore green and she talked about what it meant to be Irish.

Most of her stories involved poverty, being Catholic and having lots of kids; my mother was the oldest of 10 from a Catholic family! She lived the Irish life she spoke of, but she also held it in high esteem. She loved her brothers and sisters and the stories of poverty were told with humour- at least that's how I remembered them.

So today, continuing in my mother's tradition, I had a pleasant day from beginning until now, the very end of my day. I have attached the Guinness recipe. Everyone who has tasted them loves them. I highly recommend them!

Guinness Cupcakes

• 1 cup stout
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)

Baileys Frosting

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 8 oz. package of cream cheese
  
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk)
  

To Make Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
   
2. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
3. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend.
   
4. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend.
   
5. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine.
   
6. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined.
   
7. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 16 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack.

Make the filling:

1. Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl.
   
2. Heat the cream until it simmers and pour it over the chocolate.
   
3. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If not melted, try 20 seconds in the microwave. Do not overcook!) Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes:

1. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped. Wait too long and you'll have ganache logs!
2. Using a small serrated knife, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes.
   
3. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way.
   
4. Put the ganache into a piping bag and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Make the frosting:

1. Whip the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer for several minutes.
   
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.
3. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, add the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined.