Guinness-Chocolate Cupcakes

Every Sunday afternoon, my husband and I eat dinner at our friends' house. Normally they cook the main course and dessert, but today I'm bringing the dessert: Guinness-Chocolate Cupcakes! This is by far my all-time favorite cupcake recipe, because they are delicious and they turn out perfectly moist every time. This is a recipe I adapted from the Brown Eyed Baker's Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes.

The ingredients:

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1&1/2 teaspoonsful baking soda
1/2 teaspoonful salt
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cocoa powder
2 sticks butter
1 bottle of Guinness. Don't be afraid of the Guinness--all of the alcohol cooks out, so anybody can eat these.
You'll also need some cupcake pans and cupcake liners.

Let's get started! Pre-heat the oven to 350, then line your cupcake pans. This cake is so dark that you won't be able to see any pattern or color on your liners, so don't worry about using those cute expensive ones.

Put the butter and Guinness in a medium saucepan and heat on medium until the butter melts and the mixture begins to simmer.

Once it is simmering, take the pan off of the heat and add your cocoa.

Whisk the mixture until all of the cocoa is dissolved, then put it to the side and let it cool.

Mix together your sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

Mix your sour cream and eggs together with a hand mixer on medium speed until it is a nice creamy yellow.

Add your cooled cocoa mixture and beat until fully combined. Make sure your cocoa mixture is cooled enough so you don't scramble your eggs when you mix.

Gradually pour in your dry ingredients and beat until it is fully mixed.

Now fill your cupcake liners with the mixture. Here's a trick: use a smaller Pyrex measuring cup to pour your batter into the pan. It makes it easier to maneuver, so you don't accidentally pour it all over the pan. I was in a rush to pour mine, so I got a little bit of batter on the pan, but normally it comes out perfectly clean every time.

Fill your liners almost 4/5 full, then pop them in the oven for 17 minutes exactly. If you don't want them super moist, add a few more minutes on your cook time.

While those are baking, I made a dark chocolate glaze for the cupcakes. You'll need dark chocolate chips, heavy whipping cream, and powdered sugar. If you don't like dark chocolate, this is great with semi-sweet chocolate or milk chocolate. I prefer dark chocolate because it doesn't overpower the subtle sweetness of the cupcakes. Heat about 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream on medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Put about 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a metal or glass mixing bowl. If you want a thicker icing, use more chips and less cream. Once the cream is simmering, pour over the chocolate chips, then let it sit for one to two minutes.

Then, with a rubber spatula, stir the center of the mixture until the chips are completely melted.

Add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to the chocolate sauce. If you want it sweeter, add 1/2 to 1 cup extra powdered sugar.

Whisk until the mixture is smooth, then set to the side and let cool.

Once the cupcakes are done, set the pans on cooling racks and let cool for about 5 minutes. Then carefully transfer the cupcakes onto the racks.

While the cupcakes are still warm, spoon the chocolate glaze over them. This gets VERY messy, so I always put paper towels underneath the racks so cleanup is a breeze. I was out of paper towels this time, so I used plastic wrap.

These are delicious served fresh, all warm and gooey, with a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top. If you have leftovers, or you're making these ahead of time, they store beautifully in air-tight containers at room temperature for up to 4 days. They may be good past that, but I've never had any cupcakes left after 4 days.

There it is: the most delicious, moist cupcakes, and they come out wonderfully perfect every time. I have gotten so many compliments on these, and they are so easy to bake. Enjoy!