Happy (Late) St. Paddy's Day!

Before I get into the latest recipe for you all, please allow these two short digressions.

First, I've admittedly never been a big St. Patrick's Day person. Even when I was a kid, it never really excited me that much. As an adult of legal drinking age, I'm even less enamored with this holiday. Maybe it's because I've never been a big drinker, but I have trouble seeing the point in going out and getting shit-faced on green beer. I'm sure my Irish ancestors are rolling in their graves. Sorry, gingers, but I'm just not a fan. However, this year I did go out of my way to try and get into the spirit of things through, what else, food.

That being said, I feel the need to apologize for not posting this on the actual holiday. Lately, my job has been giving me even more reason to run and hide in my kitchen, and my university life has been taking up a lot of my time. Also, this being a rare personal diatribe, times have been tough lately. At home, my rambunctious toddler cat, Bowie, has been running me ragged for the past few days. I've discovered scratches on my television, surely from her, cat shit on my couch, witnessed by me, and cat piss in the bed. My boyfriend has had it with her and I can tell he's starting to resent her. I, on the other hand, am terrified that we'll never be able to scare these habits out of her. I've never in my entire life given away a cat. In my family, we keep them until they die, for better and for worse. We've never given up on a cat and I don't want to start with Bowie. But I also know that I can't continue to have my apartment be destroyed, as she has a definite talent for. We'll be meeting with the vet next week to discuss our options for discontinuing these undesired behaviors.

I've also been doing battle with the company my engagement ring came from because now, many months after purchasing it, we've found that the quality is less than desirable and repairs are pointless because the ring comes back more screwed up than when we sent it off for repair each time. This additional stress has been bringing me down and keeping me from posting this recipe.

Well, I promised you all limited personal diatribes, but I felt it was necessary to let you all know what was going on so that I could apologize for slacking a bit. Hopefully, this newest recipe will make you all forgive me. Believe me, it's a doozy!

Drumroll, please...

Guinness Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting! Ta-dah! Once again, I'm giving you the tweaked version of the recipe here with a link to the original recipe below. I didn't stray from the cupcake recipe at all; however, I advise you all to avoid the original frosting recipe because, as I learned the hard way, it's incorrect.

These cupcakes are the moistest, tastiest little morsels you'll ever eat. Not to mention, they're so light and refreshing. They don't weigh you down, which is odd considering one sip of Guinness usually makes me feel as though I've dined on a meal that would make Henry VIII a little queasy. The frosting, on the other hand... oh, that frosting. If I had only known! I followed the recipe to the letter, but by the time I had finished combining the recommended measurements, I had a frosting with a donut glaze consistency that would never in a thousand years be spreadable. I added more and more powdered sugar until my two pound bag lay empty on the counter top. Still, little improvement was made. In the end, my boyfriend and I used our "frosting" as a dipping sauce. Although I was disappointed, it was no less delicious. I've adjusted the measurements in the version here so that you all will not have this same problem.

May your cupcakes have a thick, perfect frosting and be drunken with Irish love... and beer!

Guinness Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake Ingredients

1 stick butter, melted
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
1 bottle (12 ounces) Guinness stout beer
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour

Tools

Bowl
Whisk
Spoon
12-muffin pan
Paper muffin cups (optional, not pictured)




Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Whisk together the butter, eggs, sugar, sour cream, and Guinness.


3. Add salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, and vanilla and whisk until well combined.


4. Add the flour in half cup increments until the entire two cups is added, making sure the flour is well combined each time.

5. Place the paper muffin cups in the muffin pan if using. Otherwise, spray the pan with cooking spray or butter and flour it. Fill each cup with 1/4 cup of batter or about 3/4 full.


6. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from the muffin pan.

7. Continue in batches until there is no batter remaining.


Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1-pound box powdered sugar






Tools

Mixer (or a Ninja, in my case)








Instructions

1. Pour the half and half into the mixer first, followed by the cream cheese. Combine at low speed until smooth.

2. Add the powdered sugar in 1/2 cup increments, combining until smooth after each addition.

3. Once the cupcakes are cooled, top each one with frosting and enjoy!



Chocolate Stout Cupcakes from the Food Network Website