Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

I'm sure I'm now on the top of the FBI's list because I've repeatedly searched my e-mail accounts for Irish Car Bomb to find the recipe for these cupcakes. These cupcakes are modeled after the drink the combines Guinness, whiskey and Bailey's. In cupcake form, the Guinness makes a rich cupcake base, the whiskey makes a divine ganache and the Bailey's is incorporated into delicious buttercream frosting. The recipe came from a blog that used a recipe from another blog, so I'm not sure where the original recipe was devised. I know I said it about the last cupcakes, but these are one of my favorite cupcakes to date. Here's my version of these delectable cupcakes.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
Cupcakes
1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream  
Whiskey Ganache
8 oz. dark chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. whiskey
Irish Cream Frosting
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
6 Tbsp. Irish Cream

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat.

Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17-19 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.

To make the filling, finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.

Cut out the centers of the cooled cupcakes. I used a large decorating tip to cut out the top and a chopstick to pop the piece of cake out of the tip before I proceeded to the next one.

Transfer the ganache to a piping bag. Fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

To make the frosting, use the whisk attachment of a stand mixer to whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Irish Cream, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.

Makes 24 cupcakes.