Bake with Whiskey for St. Patrick's Day: Chocolate Irish Whiskey Ice Cream Cupcakes

Here's a little St. Patrick's day baking treat for you. Chocolate Irish whiskey cupcakes, filled with chocolate ice cream and topped with chocolate Bailey's Irish cream glaze. So good.





Chocolate Irish Whiskey Ice Cream Cupcakes with Baileys Chocolate GlazeAdapted from Sprinkle Bakes and 500 Cupcakes

Yields approx. 2 1/2 dozen regular size cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups strongly brewed coffee (I used two packets of Starbucks Via in the 1 1/2 cup water)
1/2 cup Irish whiskey (Jameson, of course)
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate ice cream (I suggest Breyers)

1. Preheat oven to 325. Line regular size cupcake pan with wrappers.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan combine butter, coffee, whiskey, cinnamon, and cocoa powder over low/medium heat until melted. Whisking until smooth.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar. Allow to cool slightly.
5. In a mixer, mix together the eggs and vanilla.
6. Slowly pour in the chocolate mixture.
7. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Mixture will be very thin.
8. Pour into prepared cupcake pan until cups are around 2/3 full
9. Bake 15 - 17 until cake springs back when touched and cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out almost clean.
10. Set on wire rack in pan to cool for 5 - 10 min.
11. Remove from pan and leave on wire rack to cool completely.

Fill with ice cream!
A good photo tutorial can be found here where I used the same method making Boston cream cupcakes!

1. Once cooled to room temperature completely, put the cupcakes into the fridge for about 20 min or so. Meanwhile take the ice cream out of the freezer and let it soften slightly.
2. Remove the cupcakes from the fridge (they'll be easier to work with when they're cold) and use a knife to remove the center of each cupcake and cut the bottom portion of the "cone" off, keeping the "hat" of the cupcake intact.
3. Eat the cupcake cake insides you just removed! :oD mmmm...whiskey chocolate cake...
4. Spoon a bit of the softened chocolate ice cream into the center of the cupcake and replace the cupcake hat
5. Place cupcakes into the freezer until ice cream refreezes
   
   

For the Baileys chocolate glaze:1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (Ghirardelli will do the trick, accessible and tasty)
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons Baileys Irish cream

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream
3. Stir in the Baileys
4. Allow to cool slightly
5. Remove the cupcakes from the freezer and spoon the glaze over each cupcake. Pop em back in the freezer

Once the glaze is set, store them in an air tight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Before serving, remove from freezer to fridge for about 20 - 30 min or so.



Happy St. Patrick's Day kids!