Bailey’s Cupcakes with Chocolate Bailey’s Buttercream Icing
You will also need: 12 hole muffin tins and 24 paper cases - or more smaller tins and greater number of paper cases according to size desired (see above). You can also use a piping bag (mine are disposable one with the ends snipped off) but it's equally fine to spread the buttercream on the bases by hand.
Servings: 24 large muffin size cakes or 36 standard bun size or 48 mini muffin size
Ingredients
- for the Baileys cupcakes
- 275 g self raising flour
- 275 g caster sugar (superfine baking sugar)
- 275 g softened butter
- 25 g cocoa powder sieved
- 6 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp Baileys or other Irish cream liqueur
- for the Baileys buttercream
- 750 g icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
- 25 g cocoa powder sieved
- 250 g softened butter
- 100 ml Bailey's or other Irish cream liqueur
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190c or gas mark 5. Simply quickly blitz all ingredients for the cupcake bases except the Bailey's together in the food processor. Drizzle the Bailey's in last through the funnel before pulsing a few times to a smooth batter. Do not over mix.
- Spoon the batter into large muffin cases in a 12 hole muffin tray so that they are around two thirds full. Bake for around 15-18 minutes. For 12 large cupcakes I set the timer for 12 minutes, turn them around on the shelf and leave for another 6 minutes. For standard cupcake size and mini muffin size I set the timer for 10 minutes, turn around then give them a further couple of minutes until done.
- The centres may erupt like little volcanoes but that’s ok, you can lop off these peaks if you want to ice them flat or pipe icing in a spiral to emphasis their shape!
- When the cakes are done, a cocktail stick will just about come out dry. With practice you get the confidence to know how early this is, leaving them even a couple of minutes beyond this point will make your sponge too dry.
- Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before covering with icing.
- For the buttercream, beat the softened butter and Bailey's with an electric hand mixer or free standing mixer until very soft and fluffy. Sift on the icing sugar and cocoa several table spoons at a time and incorporate. The more you do at once the more it gets wafted round the kitchen covering everything so it’s best to go slow. When all the icing sugar is mixed in, add another tablespoon of milk if you think it’s still too stiff. Beat the buttercream with the mixer for several minutes, it will go fluffier and lighter. Remember that although it will be soft and squidgy now, the surface of the buttercream will go harder when it’s had a couple of hours to dry out on the surface of a cake.
- Paste your buttercream over the cupcake bases using a small palette knife or pipe it onto them in spirals. Decorate with chocolate curls and fondant flowers or using the decorations of your choice.
Notes
You can bake the cakes at 180c or gas mark 4 for slightly longer if you wish. This may help avoid the volcanic peaks.
Making buttercream in the food processor instead of with an electric hand mixer stops your kitchen getting covered in a cloud of icing sugar.