Baileys Cupcakes

4 from 1 vote

These Baileys Cupcakes are the perfect grown up cupcake recipe - moist, fudgy chocolate cupcakes with fluffy Irish cream frosting.

Prep Time30

Cook Time16

Cooling30

Total Time2

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Baileys Cupcakes, Irish Cream Cupcakes

Servings: cupcakes

1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams) softened but not starting to melt
3-4 cups powdered sugar (330-440 grams)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream (45-60 ml) or Irish Cream coffee creamer
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules optional, small grounds will dissolve more easily

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) degrees.
Line a muffin pan with muffin papers - you'll end up with 12-14 cupcakes total.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. If the cocoa powder is lumpy, be sure to sift it first.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, vanilla and buttermilk until you no longer see pieces of egg.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Give the mixture a few stirs with a rubber spatula.
Carefully pour in the boiling water. Then whisk the mixture until smooth and you no longer see streaks or lumps of dry ingredients.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each about 2/3 full.
Bake in the middle of the oven for about 16-19 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist cake crumbs.

Whisk together the instant coffee powder and Baileys. This is to help dissolve the coffee powder. If it isn't fully dissolved, that's OK.
In a large bowl beat the butter until very fluffy (about 3 minutes).
With the mixer on a low speed, beat in 2 cups powdered sugar and salt.
Beat the rest of the powdered sugar into the butter about 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with 1 tablespoon of Baileys until the desired consistency and sweetness level is reached.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag (I used a 1M tip) and frost, or frost with a knife. Optionally, decorate with a dusting of cocoa.

Baileys Frosting: This recipe will make enough for each cupcake to be piled high with a generous amount of frosting. If you prefer less and/or plan to frost with a knife, you can divide the recipe in half.
Make Ahead Tips: Cupcakes can be baked and cooled. Store overnight at room temperature in an airtight container. Make the frosting and decorate the day you plan to serve.
Storage: Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. **On the bottle, Baileys states that it should be stored between 32-77 F or 0-25C. If your kitchen is warmer than this, be sure to store in the fridge.
Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 cupcake with frosting, assuming the recipe yields 12 uniform cupcakes and all the frosting is used.