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Rich, chocolatey cupcakes are made even better with Guinness! Top these Guinness Cupcakes with vanilla buttercream for a decadent St. Patrick’s Day dessert.
Last week I decided that I don’t make nearly enough cupcakes these days.
Back in the early days of my blog, I feel like I made every flavor combination possible and if you ever flip through cupcake archives here on My Baking Addiction, you’ll see that I am sooo not kidding.
There’s pretty much something for everyone. From Doctored Cake Mix Cupcakes and Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes to adorable Bunny Butt Cupcakes that are the cutest for Easter.
Since I have so many cupcake recipes already on the blog, I thought I’d start giving some of them a little refresh starting with these Guinness Cupcakes that I posted many years ago.
They’re simple, rich, delicious and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
COOKING WITH GUINNESS STOUT
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know that I’m not a beer fan.
Honestly, I’m not really an alcohol fan in general. I’ll occasionally mix up a drink with pineapple vodka or have a sip of tiramisu martini, but I particularly loathe beer.
Although I do not like to drink beer, I do like to cook with it, especially when it’s Guinness. There is something about this dark, thick stout beer that enhances some dishes and really imparts a fabulous flavor.
I mostly use Guinness in savory recipes, such as Guinness Stew, Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Stew or Irish Beer Cheese. But some time ago I learned about using Guinness in chocolate cupcakes and was all over it!
I mean, how could we go wrong with rich, chocolatey cupcakes?
DO THESE CUPCAKES TASTE LIKE GUINNESS?
If you are like me and don’t like to drink beer: don’t worry, these cupcakes don’t actually taste like beer!
Don’t panic as you’re making them though. The batter smells very strongly of Guinness, but the finished product is a moist, light cupcake full of chocolatey goodness that is enhanced by the stout.
Topped with a crown of Homemade Buttercream Frosting, these cupcakes are downright perfect.
In fact, I might have to think about how to add Guinness to other chocolate recipes now.
HOW TO MAKE GUINNESS CUPCAKES
If you’re like me and like to keep a few bottles of Guinness handy just for cooking, then you may just already have everything you need to make these cupcakes:
- 1 bottle Guinness
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
These cupcakes use oil instead of butter, which gives them a beautiful crumb and helps keep them super moist. It also means they’re quick and easy to whip up because you don’t have to cream any butter and sugar together.
In a large bowl, mix together the Guinness, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, and baking soda. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
Portion the batter into 24 muffin tins lined with paper cups and bake for about 25 minutes. They’re done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
Let the cupcakes cool in their tins before whipping together the vanilla buttercream frosting and piping it onto the cupcakes.
(If you really want to go above and beyond with the St. Patrick’s Day theme, you could use Baileys instead of milk in the buttercream!)
I like to finish these Guinness Cupcakes with a sprinkling of chocolate jimmies.
Bake up a batch of these rich cupcakes to share with your neighbors this St. Paddy’s Day and see if they can guess the secret ingredient that makes them so decadent!
Guinness Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 12-ounce bottle Guinness Stout
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- Homemade Buttercream Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the Guinness, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the sour cream.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, and baking soda. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet Guinness mixture.
- Butter 24 muffin tins and divide the batter among the muffin tins.
- Bake 25 minutes, until risen and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out of the tins. Pipe or spread the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Homemade Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
- Tiny pinch fine sea salt
- 1 ½ pounds powdered sugar 24 ounces; sifted
- 1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract (this helps maintain the bright white color)
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed for 6-7 minutes.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the salt and powdered sugar, and continue beating until the sugar is fully incorporated.
- Add in vanilla and cream or milk and mix on low speed until incorporated.
- Turn the mixer back up to medium-high speed and beat the buttercream for an additional 6-7 minutes.
- If the buttercream is too thick, add in a bit of milk, one teaspoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
Video
Notes
- This recipe will make enough frosting to generously frost 24 cupcakes or one 9 inch layer cake.
- You can easily adjust the consistency of this recipe by simply adding in more heavy cream or milk.
- If you are a fan of shortening in your buttercream, simply omit one stick (1/2 cup) of butter and replace with 1/2 cup shortening.
- Clear vanilla extract is used in this recipe to keep the frosting nice and white. If you don’t mind a slight color change, feel free to use pure vanilla extract, but decrease the amount to 2 teaspoons.
- Covered and refrigerated frosting can be stored for up to three days. Simply bring it to room temperature and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. You may need to add a couple of teaspoons of heavy cream or milk to revive the consistency. Frosting can also be frozen for up to a month.
- If you choose to dye your frosting, go easy with the dye. Remember, you can always add more color, but you can’t remove it.
- If you garnish with sprinkles, make sure you do this immediately after you frost your baked goods. Once the top layer of the buttercream crusts, nothing will stick.
- Learn how to make powdered sugar for those times when you have run out but still want frosting!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These cupcakes are a hit whenever I make them! Fantastic recipe as always!
How do I “measure” out 1.5 pounds of confectioner’s sugar? Thank you!
Amanda-
1.5 pounds of confection’s sugar is around 3 cups. I hope this answers your questions and have a great day!
-Jamie
I’ve made these multiple times since I’ve run across the recipe! They are extremely tasty and moist. The most recent time I made them I substituted the milk for more Guinness – YUM! Everyone has loved and raved about them. Thanks for sharing.
I made a cake that was just like this, but it was too big for my boyfriend and i to finish.
I love the cupcake idea. I am going to make mini guiness cupcakes with a new pan i got from KaTom (a restaurant equipment online site)
Check it out. You can make 24 in it
These look absolutely fabulous. LOVE the use of the beer cap as decoration. What a great gift idea for a boyfriend or husband (or girlfriend or wife, for that matter!). Thanks for sharing!
These looked so amazing I tried them last night, they were really yummy but some how mine ended up hollow! They were like little cupcake tops, anyone have any idea what went wrong?
I have just made this recipe susan, and i make cupcakes for a living.. Mine did exactly the same… working on some tweaking now :)
I think that the key might be to use the Extra Stout stuff that comes in the large glass bottles and NOT the stuff that has those nitrogen ball thingies in them. I was worried about them being hallow too, since Guinness is so foamy usually, but this wasn’t an issue at all for me. The only reason I can guess is that I used the Extra Stout stuff that wasn’t nearly as frothy. Hope this helps!
I don’t drink, but I am pretty sure I could handle one of these cupcakes with no trouble:)
who would’ve thought? i’ve only used guinness in savory dishes, but this is the perfect solution for all the guinness we have left over from st. patty’s.
I made similar cupcakes last weekend, and oh my they were good. Easily one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever made. And I don’t like beer!
Yours look amazing – I didn’t make a frosting, and yours looks perfect. :)
Looks like a nice recipe. I haven’t baked with beer yet (not a a huge fan), but I have done bourbon, brandy, rum, and cognac. Just a little bit of advance. Try heating the alcohol and then adding it to the cocoa powder, this will melt the residual cocoa butter in the cocoa powder, giving you a more intense chocolate aroma and flavor. Then add this mixture to your eggs and oil. I always use this technique when I’m making chocolate cake “anything.” Trust me you will notice a difference. Good Job.
Jon
I have never baked anything with guiness, this looks so so good.