{Recipes} — Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

I have seen numerous recipes for chocolate and Guinness cupcakes, that I have been wanting to try.  I am certainly not a stout beer drinker.  In fact, I don’t really drink any beer or alcoholic beverage anymore.  However, something about the combination of chocolate and Guinness sounded delicious.  When I decided to do a Grillers & Growlers themed Supper Club, I knew that it was the perfect time to try out Chocolate Guinness cupcakes.

I found the original recipe (that I tweaked slightly) for the cupcakes on My Baking Addiction, but I used my own recipe for the buttercream.  These cupcakes were easy to make, delicious, and the whole house smelled fantastic while these baked. 



Cupcake:

1 (12 ounce) bottle of Guinness Stout

1/2 cup of 2% milk

1/2 cup of canola oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

3/4 cup of sour cream

1/2 cup of dark chocolate cocoa powder

1/4 cup of regular cocoa powder

2 cups of sugar

2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 24 muffin cups with paper muffin liners.

In a mixing bowl, combine Guinness, milk, oil, and vanilla extract.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time until each is combined.  Mix in the sour cream.

In a separate bowl, combine cocoa powders, sugar, flour, and baking soda.  Whisk together.  Gradually add dry ingredients into wet ingredients on low mixing speed, until combined. 

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each tin about 2/3 the way full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until risen and inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in tin, then remove cupcakes from muffin tin and cool completely on a wire rack before icing the cupcakes.

For the Vanilla Buttercream:

2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 whole vanilla bean, halved

4 cups of confectioner’s sugar

3 tablespoons of 2% milk

Cream together the butter and vanilla extract using an electric mixer.  Scrape the insides out of the vanilla bean into the mixing bowl, using care to not include any of the woody outer portion of the bean.  Combine. Gradually add about 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar alternately with 1 tablespoon milk, beating on low speed until blended and smooth after each addition