Bailey's Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting Recipe

My friend had a birthday celebration this past weekend (his champagne birthday, no less!), so of course I made cupcakes. He asked for Bailey's flavoured, so that's what I made!
I was worried that these would come out boozy, with that unmistakenable alcohol taste because there is so much Baileys in them, but they actually turned out really nice. The Irish cream flavour of the Bailey's is definitely present and bold, but they don't have an alcohol aftertaste. I was really pleased with them.

I went with chocolate buttercream for the frosting because it seemed like a natural pairing, inspired by one of my favorite winter drinks, Bailey's and hot chocolate. My friend appreciates silly things, so I went with a traditional kid's birthday cake sort of look, with purple polka dotted cupcake wrappers and dinosaur sprinkles (both Wilton). He loved them!

Recipe: Baileys Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients

Cupcakes (Makes approx. 30 cupcakes)

1 cup of butter, room temperature
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs, separated and at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of Bailey's liqueur

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (about 3 or 4 minutes). Add egg yolks one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Add vanilla and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture, alternating with Baileys and mixing well after each addition. Batter should be thick, but if it comes out dry, add a splash of milk.

In another bowl, beat egg whites with clean beaters until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the cupcake batter until the colour of the batter is uniform.Fill lined cupcake cups half full. Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until they test done with a toothpick.

Frosting

Ingredients

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) at room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/2 cups icing sugar

1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla
3-4 Tbsp milk

Cream together butter and shortening. Add vanilla and milk and mix well. Combine icing sugar and cocoa and gradually add to the creamed mixture. Add more milk if necessary.