Nyam's Kitchen Guiness Cupcakes

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Brown Sugar Cream


These have to be one of the easiest scratch cupcakes I've ever made! You don't even need a mixer! (well, at least until you get to the frosting)...

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So, my little Sis volunteered me to make some cupcakes for her high school's St. Patrick's day bake sale, and how could I resist the ubiquitous Guinness cupcake, lol. (These specific cupcakes are only being sold to faculty, so there were no issues regarding using stout, plus they're having a pub theme, lol).

I'd always wanted to try Guinness cake / cupcakes, and what better time than St. Pattie's day :o) Plus, I had so much Guinness left from making Easter Bun, it only made sense to use it up.

I was originally going to make a Bailey's Irish Cream frosting, but it seemed so many people were doing that...so I came up with a rich, brown sugar flavored icing instead. It rests somewhere in between an american-style buttercream and cream cheese frosting.
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Here are the recipes:

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 24

1 (12-ounce) bottle Guinness stout
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line two 12-cup cupcake tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix the stout, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Beat in one egg at a time, then whisk in the sour cream.

In another large bowl, whisk the cocoa powder, baking soda, sugars, and flour together. Slowly mix this into the stout mixture.




Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake tins and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 25 minutes.



Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the tins before turning them out onto a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, you can prepare the frosting:

Brown Sugar Cream Frosting



I decided to leave out alcohol altogether, but I could imagine a couple tablespoons of rum or even bourbon really taking this frosting over the edge!
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8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temp
1 cup brown sugar
5 1/2 - 6 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup evaporated milk
2 tsp vanilla extract or 2 Tbsp rum / bourbon

With an electric mixer, cream the brown sugar and butter together, then add the cream cheese and mix until smooth.

Add in the evaporated milk and vanilla, then one half-cup at a time, mix in the powdered sugar until it reaches a thick consistency.




Once the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe the frosting onto them and keep refrigerated if you're not serving right away. (If you don't have a piping bag, you can use a large ziploc bag with one of the corners snipped off.)

They taste better at room temp, so give them about 15 minutes out of the fridge before eating :o)

Enjoy!
Nyam's Kitchen
Happy St. Patrick's Day!