Irish Cream Drop Cupcakes

Warning: these cupcakes are not for the faint of heart! Not only are they made with a good helping of Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur, but they also have a strong dark stout flavor that makes them knock-out delicious. Cinnamon Peters from The Christmas River Series makes these cupcakes for her grandfather Warren every St. Patrick’s Day, and let me tell you – this is just how Warren likes a cupcake. Strong, intriguing, and with a healthy dollop of sweet (much how Warren thinks of himself), these cupcakes are perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

Note: These cupcakes do have Irish Cream liqueur in the frosting, so if you want to make a non-alcohol version, try subbing Irish creamer for the liqueur instead. The beer and liqueur in the cupcake itself burns off during the baking.

Irish Cream Drop Cupcakes

(Makes about 28)

Cupcake:

3 ¾ cups flour

1/2 tsp plus 1/ 8 tsp of baking soda

1 ¾ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tbs. of cinnamon

1 ¼ cups of vegetable oil

1 cup of molasses

¾ cup of brown sugar

2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon of grated orange zest

1 cup of stout beer (Guinness or a local craft beer stout with low IBU)

¼ cup of coffee

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl. In a separate large bowl, combine vegetable oil, molasses, brown sugar, eggs, orange zest, stout beer and coffee together. Gradually add flour mixture to wet mixture. Pour into cupcake liners, adding a healthy dollop of the Irish Cream filling (see below) in the middle of each cupcake (cover the top with just a little extra cupcake batter). Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Let cool and then frost with Irish cream frosting (see below) and decorate with green sprinkles.   

Irish Cream Filling:

4 oz of cream cheese

3 tbs of Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur

2 tbs of brown sugar

Pinch of salt

Combine softened cream cheese, Irish Cream, brown sugar and salt in a bowl until combined.

Irish Cream Frosting:

1/3 cup butter, softened

4 oz of cream cheese, softened

8 tbs of Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur (if making non-alcoholic version, sub with good quality Irish Cream creamer)

4 cups of confectioners’ sugar

Combine butter and cream cheese with Irish Cream. Add confectioners' sugar one cup at a time and mix until smooth and creamy. 

Best wishes for a lucky St. Patrick's Day!