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.

Irish Soda Bread

Irish week is continuing at Susi's Kochen und Backen. So far I've posted recipes for Glazed Corned Beef, Irish Colcannon Potatoes and Fried Cabbage. Today will be all about the Irish Soda Bread.

I had baked soda breads in previous years and even resulted to buying a few at the grocery store. Every time it received very mixed results from my family. My husband and I didn't mind (but they didn't taste fabulous) and the kids just plain out rejected every single one of them.

Most of the breads I had made before called for raisins. I thought they were almost too sweet. I also tried recipes using currants. I really enjoyed those loafs but again, my kids declined to eat them.

As I was looking for the "perfect" recipe I found out that Soda bread gets its name from being a quick bread in which baking soda is used for leavening rather than the more common yeast. Traditional ingredients include flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk. Other ingredients that can be found int various recipes are raisins, currants, eggs, or even nuts.

Soda bread is to this day a staple in the Irish cuisine and is served often with meals.

I ended up finding the perfect recipe. It might not be considered traditional but that wasn't what I was going for. I was looking for taste and Ina Garten's version is by far the best soda bread we've ever eaten. I ended up replacing the currants with craisins since I couldn't find currants but that turned out to be a great decision. I will be baking this recipe more frequently now and the best part is my kids love the bread and told me to make it again and again!

Irish Soda Bread

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for Craisins

4 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 cup dried Craisins (dried cranberries)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lin a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour.

With a fork, light beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the Craisins with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough. The dough will be VERY wet.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound when done.

Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftover bread can be stored for up to 3 days well wrapped. If the bread gets a little dry you can always toast it the next day for a great breakfast treat.

Adapted from: Ina Garten

Coming up tomorrow: The conclusion of Irish week, Irish Cream Cupcakes with Baileys Frosting

Fried Cabbage

Irish week continues today with another great recipe on Susi's Kocken und Backen. If you've read my blog the last couple of days you have already seen two great dishes with a little twist on the old classics. I started with Glazed Corned Beef  and yesterday continued with Irish Colcannon Potatoes. Today I'm going to talk about my Fried Cabbage which is not an Irish dish in the traditional sense.

The Irish dish is called Bacon and Cabbage. The dish consists of boiled bacon (this refers to back bacon which is cured and/or smoked. It does not refer to sliced bacon which one might fry) served with boiled cabbage and potatoes. Historically, this dish was common fare in Irish homes as the ingredients were readily available (many families grew their own vegetables and reared their own pigs), nourishing and satisfying. The dish continues to be a very common meal in Ireland. There are many different variations on the theme of bacon and cabbage, but in general the dish tends to involve slicing the back bacon after it has been well boiled and serving it with whole boiled potatoes and boiled cabbage (which is often boiled with the bacon for flavor).

Since I already had potatoes in the dish with the Colcannon and quite some leftover bacon and cabbage I decided to go a slightly different route and make fried cabbage. It is a simple straight forward dish that gets its flavor from frying the cabbage in bacon grease. A little salt and pepper along with a pinch of sugar are added along with the rendered bacon bits and you have the perfect accompaniment to any meal.

We enjoy cabbage very much in our house so this was a no-brainer that turned out very well.

Fried Cabbage

~serves 4~ 
(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

1/4 pound (about 3 slices) thick cut bacon, chopped

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 pounds cabbage, shredded

2 tablespoons water

1 pinch white sugar

Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Place bacon in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown and crisp. Remove bacon, and set aside.

Cook Onion in the hot bacon grease until tender. Add cabbage, and stir in water, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook until cabbage wilts, about 10 minutes. Stir in reserved bacon. Serve immediately.

Coming up tomorrow: Irish Soda Bread

Irish Colcannon Potatoes

This week is Irish week on Susi's Kochen und Backen. Yesterday I kicked off the week with a delicious Glazed Corned Beef. Since this wasn't going to be a "traditional" Irish meal, I had to come up with something other then boiled potatoes and cabbage. This brought me to a recipe for Colcannon (Irish: cál ceannann, meaning "white-headed cabbage") Potatoes.

Colcannon is traditionally made from mashed potatoes, kale or cabbage, butter, salt and pepper. It can contain additional ingredients such as milk, cream, leeks, onions, chives, boiled ham or Irish bacon. At one time this was a cheap, year-round staple in many households in Ireland. It is usually eaten in the Fall and Winter times when the kale and cabbage are in season.

I stayed pretty close to the traditional version but added green onions and American bacon to mine. Also I decided on cabbage rather then kale only because everyone prefers cabbage in our house.

 You can make this dish with any potato, but I prefer Yukon Golds. They have a very buttery taste to begin with and lend any potato dish a great flavor.

This one was good, as in REALLY good. The kids and husband couldn't get enough of it either. Irish Colcannon Potatoes will be served a lot more from now on in our house.

Irish Colcannon Potatoes

~serves 8~
(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 pound cabbage, shredded

2 cups water

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 cup milk

1/2 cup green onions, sliced

4 tablespoons butter, melted (divided)

Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 pound thick cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring cabbage and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving cooking liquid. Keep cabbage warm.

Place cabbage cooking liquid and potatoes in a large saucepan; add enough additional water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-17 minutes or until tender. Drain and keep warm.

In a small pot, gently warm milk and green onions. While the milk is warming mash the potatoes with 2 tablespoons butter. Add the milk mixture; beat until well combined. Mix in the cabbage, salt, pepper and half of the cooked bacon bits. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons melted butter and reserved bacon bits.

Serve with corned beef.

Coming up tomorrow: Fried Cabbage

Glazed Corned Beef

St. Patrick's Day, which is celebrated on March 17th, just wouldn't be the same at our house without a typical Irish Meal. We are not Irish in any way or shape nor do I claim to cook this meal authentic, we just enjoy good food. My kids dread this holiday every year though. None of them enjoy the normal fare of boiled corned beef with potatoes and root vegetables and neither do they care for the Irish Soda bread I had bought or baked before.

 This year I set out to cook a St. Patrick's Day meal that still had all the "authentic" components but decided to put my own spin on it. Follow me the next few days for recipes that will turn any St. Patrick's Day celebration green with envy ;o)

First up I tackled Corned Beef. Corned beef did not originate in Ireland but is rather part of the Irish-American culture. In Ireland the meat is more like a bacon or ham where the corned beef became popular in the eastern United states when Irish Immigrants would use beef rather then pork in the traditional dish. Corned beef refers to the style of beef which is a brisket that has been brined and gets its color from the addition of potassium nitrate also called saltpeter.

The kids hate the way the brined, boiled piece of meat tastes, so I figured why not find a recipe for a baked, glazed Corned beef similar in style to a baked ham. Not just did I find a great recipe but the meat was moist with a hint of sweetness, and don't let that pickle juice turn you off. It just works, trust me. It got a big thumbs up from the kids. There was not one piece leftover, and all my corned beef hating kids couldn't get enough of this one.

Glazed Corned Beef

~serves 6~
(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 corned beef brisket (about 3 pounds)

1/2 medium onion, cut into chunks

1 medium carrot, cut into chunks

1 celery rib with leaves, cut into chunks

1 tablespoon mixed pickling spices*

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard 

1/4 cup sweet pickle juice

* most corned beef briskets come with a packet of pickling spices, just add that 

Directions:

Place corned beef in a large Dutch oven; cover with water. Add the onion, carrot, celery and pickling spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours or until meat is tender.

Transfer corned beef to a 13-inch x 9-inch baking dish; discard all but 1 cup of broth and vegetables. Score the surface of meat with a shallow diagonal cuts.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and mustard; spread over meat. Drizzle with pickle juice. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees F for 1 hour, basting occasionally and adding reserved liquid to bottom of dish as needed to prevent drying out. Serve with your favorite Irish dishes.

Coming up tomorrow: Irish Colcannon Potatoes