It seems I’ve been on a kick this year of turning cocktails into cupcakes. This week I decided to take a shot at an Irish coffee cupcake. Which turned into a chocolate Irish coffee cupcake, because well when does adding chocolate ever go wrong. In case you are not familiar with Irish coffee, it is a drink made up of hot coffee, whiskey and sugar, topped with a layer of heavy cream. I imitated the drink with a chocolate and hazelnut coffee cupcake, filled with a whiskey cream and frosted with chocolate espresso frosting. Before diving into this, I would suggested reading through the whole recipe first. There are a few things that need to be refrigerated the night before baking.
Chocolate Coffee Cupcake
Ingredients
2 cups almond milk2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups brewed coffee
2 tbs coffee grounds
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 350°
2. Combine 2 cups of almond milk with 2 tsp apple cider vinegar in a mixing bowl. Let this sit aside for a few minutes until it begins to curdle.
3. Once curdled add in 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2/3 cup oil (I used safflower oil, but any vegetable based oil will work), 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp almond extract.
4. Once blended slowly add in the dry ingredients: 3 cups flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1 1/2 tsp salt.
5. Pour in 1 1/2 cups of brewed coffee. I chose to use hazelnut because it is a sweeter coffee. Then add in 2 tbs of coffee grounds. If you grind your own coffee make sure this is very finely ground, you don’t want the cupcakes to end up with a crunchy texture.
Whiskey Cream Filling
Ingredients
3 cans of full fat coconut milk1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup whiskey
4 tbs cornstarch
1/4 cup crisco
Instructions
 |
| This is the oily liquid that will be left in the can after the cream has been scooped out |
2. Pour 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar into the coconut milk and gently beat for a few seconds. Its important not to over beat this filling, it will become too runny.
3. Add in 2/3 cup whiskey one tbs at a time (it will end up being around 10 tbs). I used Jameson, but feel free to use any Irish whiskey. I really just chose a whiskey that everyone would want to drink after the cupcakes rather than what I thought would work best with the cakes.
4. Gently stir in 3/4 tbs cornstarch and 1/4 cup of crisco. These are both added for texture.
Chocolate Espresso Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup non dairy butter (or dairy butter if thats what your into)1 cup crisco
5 cups powdered sugar
2 cups cocoa powder
5 tbs brewed coffee
Garnishes
Espresso sugarPirouette cookies
Instructions
1. Beat the room temperature 1 cup butter (I use soy free earth balance) and 1 cup crisco for a minute.
2. Add in the 5 cups of powdered sugar one cup at a time.
3. Beat in the 2 cups of powdered sugar and 5 tbs of brewed coffee.
Assembly
Cut a quarter size hole into each of the cupcakes.
Pour a small amount of whiskey into a cup and dip a baster or any clean brush into it. Brush the insides of the cupcakes with whiskey and then fill with the whiskey cream filling. Once filled, pour a teaspoon of whiskey on top of each cupcake, this step is optional if you do not want the whiskey to play such a prominent feature
Pipe on your frosting with either a piping tool or by filling a plastic bag with frosting and cutting off the tip.
Sprinkle the top of each cupcake with espresso flavored sugar. I purchased mine at a small spice shop in Colorado. If you’re unable to find some in stores you can make espresso sugar by storing sugar and espresso together in an air tight container for a few days. If that sounds like it takes way to long, feel free to omit this step.
I then topped off the cupcakes with a pirouette cookie. Now go eat cupcakes, drink whiskey, and be merry.