Not having much of a sweet tooth, I usually resort to a cheese plate for dessert. Or tiramisu, on special occasions. But you sure make me happy with a good ole Irish coffee after dinner. Or a Spanish coffee for that matter (just replace whiskey with Tia Maria). Yum.

I’ve seen a lot of recipes that use a mere 1 or 2 tbsp whiskey in either the batter or the frosting. Really? My Irish coffee is always heavy on the whiskey—no point in drinking it unless you can actually taste it. And in my humble opinion, so should an Irish coffee cupcake be. No whiskey, no Irish coffee. 

These cupcakes taste like whiskey alright. Not crazy much, but enough to give them a wonderful boost. The cupcakes as well as the topping.

Definitely not kid-friendly, mind you!


Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup whiskey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 tbsp milk

Optional: raisins

Topping:

1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon whiskey


Directions:

In a bowl you combine the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

Irish coffee needs brown sugar. Cupcakes need eggs, room temperature.

Pour the oil into your mixer bowl.

Combine it with the brown sugar and let it cream for 3 minutes before adding the eggs. Give it another 4 minutes.

It should be a smooth, silky brown, concoction by now.

Time to add the whiskey, 1/2 a cup to be precise.

Also add 3 tbsp milk and mix for 2 minutes at high speed.

Add the spiced up flour.

And optionally some raisins, 1/4 to half a cup should do. The raisins really add to the flavor. At least I think they do.

Mix until just combined.

Line a standard muffin tin with liners. I doubled the liners. Fill them 2/3 of the way with the batter.

Bake the cupcakes in a preheated oven at 350F (175C) for 17 to 20 minutes. Until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

They smell so good!

Let them cool on the rack.

Don’t you dare use buttercream frosting. Irish coffee is topped with whipped cream, so whipped cream is the only option. Sorry to be this stern, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

Pour 1 cup of whipped cream into a mixer bowl and add 3 tbsp (more if you like it sweet) confectioners sugar. Beat until it starts to thicken a bit. Pour in 1 tbsp whiskey and continue to beat until you can form soft peaks. Don’t make it very firm!

The whiskey does amazing things to the whipped cream. Save some to spoon on your coffee!

Normally I would have used a little espresso to dust the cupcakes with, but I went all the way this time. This stuff is great on desserts—freshly grounded sugar, coffee beans and chocolate.

These are truly little bites of heaven. Serve with strong espresso to get the full effect.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Much love,

Kay