Wondering what to make if you want something inspired by the show Once? Clear answer – make Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes. Seriously, do it. These are amazing. But fair warning – the alcohol in the cupake batter itself will be baked out, but the alcohol in the ganache and the frosting will not. Thus this may not be the best to serve to any small children you have enjoying the Tony festivities, but absolutely amazing to serve to the adults. I got the idea and the overall recipe from the amazing smitten kitchen, and adapted ever so slightly. When making, don’t let the fact that everything is from scratch daunt you – they’re super easy to make, and so worth it! And for me, after FINALLY seeing the magic that is Once last night I am so excited to share these with my friends and celebrate this beautiful show and all the Tonys it is going to win!

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes – makes about 24 cupcakes

• 1 cup Guinness
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache filling for the cupcakes – optional

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey

Baileys buttercream frosting

• 4 to 4.5 cups confections sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperatue
• 4 to 4.5 tablespoons Baileys

First, for the cupcakes: preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. On the stove, bring the cup of Guinness and 1 cup butter to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Once simmering nicely, add in the cocoa powder and whisk for about a minute until smooth. Take off the flame and allow to cool slightly.

While cooling, add the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt to a large bowl and whisk together. In a separate large bowl beat the eggs and the sour cream with an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer until blended. Pour the Guinness mixture into the bowl with the egg mixture and beat until combined, about 10 to 20 seconds. Pour all of the flour mixture into the liquid and beat with the hand/stand mixer on a low speed until totally combined. The mixture will be fairly liquid at this point, and spoon the liquid into the cupcake tins, lined with 24 cupcake liners. Place the cupcakes in the over for about 17-19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set on a rack to cool.

If you decide to make the ganache (and I’ve had these cupcakes both ways, so don’t feel as if you have to add it to make the cupcakes delicious, as they taste great with or without!) – first, chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Heat the heavy cream over the stove until it is just simmering, and then pour over the chocolate in the bowl. Set aside for a minute for it, and then stir until the mixture is smooth. Add the butter and whiskey, and stir.

To fill the cupcakes, take a 1 inch round cookie cutter (or if you’re like me and don’t have one of these on hand), you can also take a knife and cut a small hole into the cupcake – don’t cut all the way through, aim for about 2/3 of the way through the cupcake. Use the knife or a small spoon to remove the circle of cupcake, and eat those on their own, or with any remaining frosting or ganache you have – even better if mixed in a bowl with vanilla ice cream with a bit of Baileys poured on top! Once the ganache is cooled, ideally you would use a piping bag with a circle tip, or you can also take a plastic baggie, cut the end off the baggie, fill with the ganache and simply pipe into the cupcakes.

Finally, for the frosting – whip the butter with a hand mixer or your stand mixer, for a few minutes until it’s fluffy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing the butter/sugar mixture in between each cup. Once you’ve added two of the cups of powdered sugar, add in three tablespoons of the Baileys. Mix, and then add in the remaining cup of powdered sugar. Mix, and then add the remaining tablespoon of Baileys. If your hand slipped and you added in too much of one of the ingredients then add either more powdered sugar or Baileys until you get the right consistency, which is creamy but also slightly stiff so it holds its shape on the cupcake.

Then, take either your piping bag or a knife, and pipe/smear onto the cupcakes. And that’s it! They are going to taste amazing, and please enjoy!

Delicious.