I am thrilled to share with you this recipe for Easy Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes. They are not just any cupcakes! They are infused with Guinness Beer, Irish Whiskey, and my favorite, Bailey’s Irish Cream! Whoa Nelly, these are good!
What is an Irish Car Bomb?
An Irish Car Bomb is a cocktail prepared by serving a pint of stout Guinness Beer and dropping in a shot glass layered with Bailey’s Irish Cream and Irish Whiskey. Needless to say, it packs a punch! I certainly will not be drinking one of these, but I will be having some of these cupcakes deliciously inspired by the Irish Car Bomb.
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If you’re intrigued, make sure to also try my Instant Pot Irish Car Bomb Chocoflan. It is amazing! But for now, back to these ridiculously yummy cupcakes.
Why Use a Box Cake Mix?
Why not? I mean, even bakeries use box cake mixes. Did you know that? Yes, they do, they just spruce them up a bit to make them fancier. With 5 kids, and sometimes 10 of us in the house at once, things need to be easy! I love easy. Heads up, we will also be using a premade frosting!
For this recipe, you will start with a box cake mix and add Guinness Beer to it instead of the water. If you haven’t had a chocolate cake made with Guinness Beer before, you have no idea what you’re missing! There is absolutely no beer taste in the cake. On the contrary the chocolate flavor is enhanced and there
What Kind of Frosting Should I Use?
As for the frosting, like I mentioned above, I use a tub of pre-made frosting. For the inside of the cupcake you will need a chocolate frosting. You will be spiking it with whiskey! The cupcake is topped with Buttercream Bailey’s frosting. If you want to make your own buttercream icing you can absolutely do that.
For this recipe, I bought a tub of Pillsbury Buttercream frosting and mixed it with the Bailey’s. At my store I did not find any other brand of pre-made buttercream frosting. The Pillsbury one was the only one, and it was delicious.
Kitchen Prep Tools, Utensils & Appliances
Here is a list of the kitchen prep tools, utensils, and appliances I used to make this recipe.
Prep Tools & Utensils
These easy Irish Car Bomb cupcakes are super simple to make and require only a few utensils. Here’s what you’ll need:
- All you’ll need for making the cupcake batter is a mixing bowl, a small liquid measuring cup, and a whisk.
- If you’re making these for St. Patrick’s Day then you could use some super cute cupcake liners to dress the cupcakes up for the occasion.
- When decorating the cupcakes, I used a cupcake corer to make removing the center of the cupcake easier. I also used my nifty cupcake decorating kit that I got a few years ago to fill and top the cupcake with frosting.
Appliances & Cookware
You won’t need much in the way of appliances and cookware either. Here is all you’ll need:
- The only small appliance that you’ll need for this recipe is a hand mixer for blending Bailey’s Irish Cream into the buttercream frosting and Jameson Irish Whiskey into the chocolate frosting.
- The only other thing you’ll need is a good cupcake pan.
Serving Platters & Dishes
Make sure to show your cupcakes off on a beautiful cupcake stand.
Best Bakeware
If you’re serious about baking, make sure you have these Essential Bakeware items in your kitchen. You’ll find a complete list of all the Best Bakeware that you’ll need to properly equip your kitchen for baking.
These Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes make a perfect treat for St. Patrick’s Day! But let’s be honest, they’re so good, you’ll want to make them year round!
You are going to be so impressed with these semi-homemade Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes! I would love to hear about it in the comments when you try them!
Easy Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
Guinness Cupcakes With Whiskey Chocolate Filling and Topped With Bailey’s Buttercream
Ingredients
for the Cupcake Batter
- 1 box devil's food cake mix
- 1 cup Guinness Extra Stout beer
for the Chocolate Whiskey Filling
- 1 tub chocolate frosting 16 oz
- 2 tsps Jameson Irish Whiskey
for the Bailey's Buttercream Frosting
- 1 tub butter cream frosting 16 oz
- 2 tbsps Bailey's Irish Cream
Directions
mix & bake the Cupcakes
- Prepare the cake batter following the instructions on the back of the box replacing the water for the Guinness beer. I use either Duncan Hines Devil's Food or Pillsbury Devil's Food cake mix. Both call for 1 cup of water which I substitute with 1 cup of Guinness.
- Fill a cupcake pan with the batter and cook according to the instructions on the box.
- Take the cupcakes out of the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the cupcake filling and frosting.
prepare the Cupcake Filling & Frosting
- For the cupcake filling, add the chocolate frosting (I use Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge) and Jameson Irish Whiskey to a mixing bowl and mix with a hand mixer on low to medium speed until the whiskey is fully incorporated into the frosting.
- For the frosting, add the buttercream frosting (I used Betty Crocker Butter Cream) and Bailey's Irish Cream to a mixing bowl and mix with a hand mixer on low to medium speed until the Bailey's is fully incorporated into the frosting.
make them Car Bomb Cupcakes
- Now, core the cupcakes by inserting a knife about halfway in from the top of the cupcake and cut out a circle. Then, using the knife or a small spoon, scoop out the middle of the cupcake about halfway down into the cupcake. I use a cupcake corer to make this task easier. Now fill the cupcake with the whiskey infused chocolate frosting.
- Next, add the buttercream frosting to a piping bag and decorate the top of the cupcake with the Bailey's buttercream.
- Serve and enjoy these wonderfully easy Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes.
Nutrition Facts
While every effort is made to correctly calculate these nutritional facts, they should be used as general guidance as they may not be 100% accurate.
Hi. Do you add the beer straight from the bottle or should it be flat.
Hi Donna! I usually pop it open while I’m mixing and just let it sit there a couple of minutes. That’s it. It does not have to be flat. Thanks for stopping by!
So easy and well loved. This is the third time I’ve made them for friends and coworkers and they all love them!
Hi April! So glad you have enjoyed these! Thanks for stopping by!
Looks wonderful and easy!!!
A cake mix usually makes 24 cupcakes. Your recipe calls for 12 cupcakes. Do you make them larger than normal!
Hi Ellen! It’s a mistake! It should be 24 cupcakes. I link to this recipe from an Irish Chocoflan that leaves half the cake batter available for cupcakes so I accidentally put 12. We’ll fix it. You should get 24 cupcakes if you follow this recipe. Enjoy!