I made this cupcake as a thank you to a very good friend (who then later become the love of my life) for saving my servers.  I’m a huge fan of cupcakes with booze and this one used Guinness excellently!  You could really taste the richness of the stout.  For the life of me, I can’t remember where on the internet I got the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 2 cup stout (Guinness)
• 8 oz. unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (dutch-processed), sifted
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole cane sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cups organic sour cream

For the buttercream

• 2 cups(16 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 1/2 – 5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 vanilla bean, pulp removed
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (or sub out some Baileys)
• 3-4 Tbsp. whole milk

Instructions:

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. Line cupcake molds with liners.
3. In a heavy saucepan, melt butter and add the stout.  brink to a simmer over low heat.  Once butter is melted, whisk in the cocoa powder. cool slightly.
4. In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. whisk and set aside.
5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs and sour cream. slowly add the chocolate mixture.  Mix to combine.
6. Remove the bowl from the mixer and using a rubber spatula, mix in the dry ingredients.
7. Divide the batter evenly amongst the cupcakes.
8. Bake the mini cupcakes 12-15 minutes and the regular size cupcakes 16-20 minutes.
9. Let cool before frosting.

For the butter cream:

1. Mix the butter until very creamy (about 3-5 minutes).
2. Split the vanilla bean down the middle.  with a pairing knife, scrape out the seeds from the bean. add them to the creamed butter and mix, pulsing slowly(save your pods and throw them in a jar of sugar. I keep vanilla sugar on hand it is a great way to dress up any dessert).
3. Add the sifted powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time until you get the consistency that you desire.
4. Add the milk and Bailey’s(or vanilla) slowly.
5. I like a thicker butter cream, so I tend to use more sugar and less milk.
6. Frost the cupcakes with a pastry tip of your choice or an off set spatula.  add food coloring if you choose, decorate with jimmies, sprinkles, or whatever would make a festive cupcake.