Irish Cream Cupcakes With Baileys Frosting

After featuring Glazed Corned Beef, Irish Colcannon Potatoes, Fried Cabbage and Irish Soda Bread this week on Susi's Kochen und Backen I was presented with the task of finding an Irish dessert to round out our St. Patrick's Day celebration. Not that easy of a task, I might add. Nothing  looked appealing to me until I found a recipe that called for adding Baileys Irish Cream to the frosting of a cake. Not wanting to make a cake, I decided on making cupcakes.

Although the recipe sounded delicious, I thought to myself how can I kick this up another notch? Well how about by adding a good cup of Baileys to the cupcake batter itself! This resulted in moist, delicious cupcakes that smelled just like a glass of Baileys with milk. The frosting which is your basic buttercream with powdered sugar and butter added another little hint of Baileys and tasted good enough to be eaten with a spoon (which I might or might not have done). I also added the tiniest bit of food coloring to the frosting to give it a green hue underneath the icing sugar.

I sent most of these with my husband to work and they were gone in no time which is always a good sign.  So if you like Baileys, and a good cupcake, then go ahead and give them a try.

Irish Cream Cupcakes

~makes approx. 36 cupcakes~
(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups Irish Cream Liqueur (i.e. Bailey's)

2/3 cup milk

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

Baileys Frosting (recipe follows)

Green Sanding Sugar (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Insert paper liners into cupcake pans.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla extract. Beat well.

In a measuring cup combine the liqueur and milk.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the liqueur mix. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes.

Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes on a cooling rack.

Frost the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with icing sugar if desired.

Baileys Cream Frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons Irish Cream Liqueur (Baileys)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Green Food Coloring (optional)

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter until smooth. Reduce speed to medium. Add the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed, about 5 minutes total; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds (to aerate frosting).

Add Baileys, vanilla and food coloring if desired, and beat until combined and smooth. Use immediately, or refrigerate up to 5 days in an airtight container; bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth before using.