If you don’t usually celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, these cupcakes are enough of a reason to make you start! They’re richly chocolaty, darkly luxurious and topped with an insanely delicious peanut butter frosting. They’re also super easy to make & frost – perfect for novice cupcake-makers like me!
I have never once celebrated St. Patrick’s Day (sorry, my dear Irish friends!) but starting from next year I will, just so that I can have an excuse to make these chocolate stout cupcakes with peanut butter frosting again and again.
I actually made these this weekend a little bit coincidentally to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day week. You see, I’m taking part in a fun sort of blog hop where a group of us food bloggers get to make something yummy from a fellow blogger’s site. I made a bee-line for these mouth-watering-sounding cupcakes when I was picking out what to make from Nicky’s cool site Little Family Adventure. Do take a moment to check out the site – it’s got all sorts of goodies like healthy meal plans, tips for family road trips and loads of great giveaways.
I chose these mainly because I was intrigued by the choco-beer combo. I don’t know whether you’ve ever added espresso coffee to a chocolate cake mixture to intensify the chocolaty flavour or not, but adding a dark stout beer has a bit of a similar effect (I used Guinness, of course!) It adds a richer, fuller flavour – maybe even a slight bitterness to balance out all the sweetness of the cake and frosting.
Mmmmm … chocolaty … very, very chocolaty …
I was thinking while making these cupcakes that there was something strangely soothing about the whole process. I think it’s because everything’s very ‘neat and clean and easy’, if that makes sense. I know … ‘Weird!’ you’re thinking … but stay with me for a moment. You melt down the butter with the honey and stout and then add the cocoa to get a beautifully smooth and rich sauce-like mixture. At this point, honestly, I was swooning from the INCREDIBLE smell! I would try to describe it, but I know I’ll fail dismally so you’ll just have to make the cakes for yourself to find out what I mean.
Then you simply whisk up an egg with a bit of natural yoghurt (I used Greek, of course), temper this mixture by adding a bit of the chocolaty mixture to it, then pour that into the sweet buttery stout mixture. Finally, you stir in a bit of flour. You end up with a fairly runny mixture that you can spoon really easily into the cupcake wrappers. A little over 10 minutes later your kitchen is filled with an even more intense rich dark chocolaty aroma … mmm!
My verdict on Nicky’s finished cupcakes was a resounding ‘DELICIOUS!’ I must admit I upped the amount of cocoa in them because I knew that’s how I would like them, but they weren’t at all dry – the yoghurt took care of that. They also aren’t all that bad on the healthy-ness scale. I’m not going to pretend they’re a ‘healthy’ cake as such (hello sweet and yummy frosting!) but the actual cake mixture doesn’t have any sugar in it at all – just honey. There also isn’t all that much butter in there. You don’t need it because of the extra fat in the yoghurt.
Don’t expect a strong Guinness-y flavour in these – it isn’t there. But the Guinness does definitely give them a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’. A definite rich dimension perfect for a fine occasion like St. Patrick’s Day!
Just a little note on the delicious buttery, peanut-y frosting before I let you run off to the shops to get the ingredients to make these. I used a slightly different frosting to the one Nicky suggested because I couldn’t wait to test out my new icing nozzles (is that what you call them?) I have actually never piped frosting onto cakes before – can you believe it?
When you are making your frosting, have a bit of extra milk and icing sugar on standby because you might need to adjust the amount of one or the other. I thought I was going to have to nip out and buy more ingredients because at one point my ‘frosting’ just looked like a gloopy mess. But it turned out I just needed to add more icing sugar and beat it for a tiny bit longer until … bingo! … it turned light and fluffy.
So how do you think I did with my piping? 😉 I’m sure there is room for improvement, but I was pretty pleased with my first attempt!
Chocolate stout cupcakes with peanut butter frosting
Ingredients
for the cupcakes
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 2/3 cup honey
- 1/2 cup stout beer e.g. Guinness
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 1/4 cup plain yoghurt I used Greek
- 1 egg
for the frosting
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 2 cups confectioner’s/icing sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- chocolate buttons for decoration optional
Instructions
Cupcakes
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Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
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Mix the baking soda into the flour in a small bowl and set aside.
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Melt the butter and honey together in a small saucepan over a low heat, then add the Guinness. Then take the mixture off the heat and stir in the cocoa powder. Set aside.
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In another small bowl, whisk the egg then whisk in the yoghurt. To temper it, stir in a tablespoon of the cocoa mixture, then repeat three more times. Then add this mixture to the butter-honey-cocoa mixture and stir well.
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Whisk the flour into the cocoa mixture until all of the flour is incorporated, then spoon the mixture into the cupcake liners (fill them about 2/3 full). Bake for 12 to 13 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely.
frosting
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Beat together the butter with the peanut butter with a handheld mixer or food processor. Slowly begin adding the icing sugar and continue beating.
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When the mixture starts to get thick, slowly start adding the milk (you may not need to use it all). Continue adding the sugar and beating (for a few minutes) until the mixture becomes light and fluffy (see note below!).
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Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with your chosen nozzle, then pipe a big swirl of frosting onto the top of each cupcake (start from the outside and work inwards). Decorate with chocolate buttons (if using)
Recipe Notes
Slightly adapted from Nicky’s blog Little Family Adventure.
Peanut butter frosting recipe from here.
If the frosting seems a bit wet and gloopy after you've whisked it together, you probably just need to add a bit more icing sugar. Amounts can vary a bit depending on the water content of the butter/type of peanut butter used etc.
Also, the frosting recipe makes quite a generous amount. If you don't use it all to frost your cupcakes, just put it into a sealed container and freeze for next time!
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June Burns says
15 Mar 15 at 11:20 pmMmm, those sound amazing! Chocolate + stout really is a match made in heaven. Love the peanut butter frosting too 🙂
Helen says
15 Mar 15 at 11:59 pmHello, June! Thanks so much for passing by! Really happy you like the cupcakes. Happy St. Paddy’s day!
marcie says
15 Mar 15 at 11:37 pmThese look SO moist and chocolatey, Helen, and that peanut butter frosting looks to die for! I’d make these any time, but St. Patrick’s Day is a great excuse! Pinned. 🙂
Helen says
15 Mar 15 at 11:58 pmThanks so much, Marcie! Let’s face it, though, we don’t really need an excuse to eat chocolaty cupcakes!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
16 Mar 15 at 12:42 amHelen, these cupcakes look gorgeous! I love that you used stout in here. And that peanut butter frosting is just calling my name!
Helen says
16 Mar 15 at 8:38 pmThanks, Gayle! Hope you try them some time!
Culinary Ginger says
16 Mar 15 at 1:31 amDon’t feel bad, I never celebrated St Pat’s Day growing up in England and I don’t celebrate it now, because I’m not Irish. These look so moist and chocolatey and oh do I miss chocolate buttons. Chocolate in the U.S., not so nice.
Helen says
16 Mar 15 at 8:38 pmI must admit I wasn’t too keen on the US chocolate I tasted when I visited … but I’d better not say too much more about that … maybe I just didn’t try the ‘good stuff’! So … you don’t have choccy buttons over there? That’s awful!
Julie | This Gal Cooks says
16 Mar 15 at 2:58 amStout beer and peanut butter, great combo! I totally need one of these cupcakes, Helen. Would have gone great with the glass of milk stout I had earlier.
I can’t say I’ve ever really celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. I can’t recall ever going anywhere to celebrate but I have made foods (and eaten foods) that are generally eaten in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. So maybe I semi-celebrated or celebrated without even knowing! 😉
Helen says
16 Mar 15 at 8:36 pmSure, you semi-celebrated … or perhaps completely celebrated! Thanks for the compliments, Julie! 🙂
mira says
16 Mar 15 at 4:40 amStout and chocolate is such a great combination and I’d love to try these! Gorgeous! It is funny how popular St. Patrick’s Day is in the US, but not so much in Europe 🙂 Pinned 🙂
Helen says
16 Mar 15 at 8:35 pmI know! It beats me!! Thanks for pinning, mira! 🙂
Eva says
16 Mar 15 at 12:35 pmIl faut que j’essaie cette recette ! J’aime beaucoup la bière Guinness et ton frosting à l’air super ! Pour St Patrick’s il faut faire un gâteau avec Guinness?? Je ne connais pas beaucoup la tradition.
Helen says
16 Mar 15 at 8:35 pmNon, c’est pas necessaire de faire un gateau au Guinness pour St. Patrick’s, mais beaucoup de gens font de differentes recettes avec de la Guinness dedans … parce qu’on adore la Guinness en Irlande .. et autour du monde!
Eva says
19 Mar 15 at 9:26 amAh maintenant je comprend mieux ! L’année prochaine peut être je veux essayer de faire quelque chose pour la St Patrick! J’envie d’essayer un cake au Guinness, ça doit le donné comme même un goût très particulier !
Helen says
19 Mar 15 at 6:24 pm🙂
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
16 Mar 15 at 12:58 pmOh. My. God. I think I would lick the frosting off of all these cupcakes haha
Helen says
16 Mar 15 at 8:31 pmAhem … well actually I did … 🙂
Kathleen | HapaNom says
16 Mar 15 at 1:34 pmThis is so creative! Stout and chocolate sounds like a match made in heaven! And of course the peanut butter frosting is the piest de resistance – beautiful pipping work too 🙂
Helen says
16 Mar 15 at 8:31 pmOh, thanks, Kathleen … I’m so happy you think my piping is OK! I was quite proud of myself, I must admit!
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
16 Mar 15 at 5:28 pmThis is a first for me – I’ve heard of Guinness in chili and stews before – even seen it used to roast a chicken over – but I’ve never ever had or seen or heard of it in cupcakes before – Helen – such a fantastic idea! I bet this was an ah-mazing flavor combo!!!
Helen says
16 Mar 15 at 8:30 pmOoh, now you’re tempting me with the sound of that roasted Guinness chicken, Shashi! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
[email protected] Eats says
16 Mar 15 at 8:48 pmI very very rarely pipe! It is such a hassle, all that extra cleaning, the shaking hand as I nervously prepare to pipe pretty swirls on cupcakes….
If I do celebrate St Patrick’s Day, it will be with these!! I am not really fond of bright green sweet treats….these are much more my type! Yee ha!! 🙂
Helen says
16 Mar 15 at 9:57 pmHi, Nagi! You know, the piping wasn’t so much of a hassle … I used a disposable bag and it really wasn’t so difficult to keep my hands still. And I’m the queen of the shaky hands with these kinds of things! Glad you like the non-greenness of these!
Mary Frances says
16 Mar 15 at 9:34 pmThat frosting! I want to dive right in 🙂 We don’t really celebrate St. Patrick’s Day either but I love the corned beef every year. Time to add chocolate cupcakes to the meal!
Helen says
16 Mar 15 at 9:56 pmHi, Mary Frances! I must admit I ate rather a lot of this frosting on a big spoon! 🙂 Happy St. Paddy’s day!
Renée ♥ The Good Hearted Woman says
16 Mar 15 at 9:45 pmWe are very big on St Pat’s Day at our house. Or at least I am, and since I am the Mom, that means everyone else just follows along. I even have a compulsory monologue on the inspiring and fascinating life of the man who became St Patrick. Anyway, these look and sound marvelous!
Helen says
16 Mar 15 at 9:55 pmHello, Renee! Thanks so much for passing by and taking the time to comment! I would love to hear your St. Paddy’s day speech!
cheri says
16 Mar 15 at 10:38 pmHi Helen, you did a great job with your piping, your cupcakes are beautiful, love the peanut butter frosting especially with the chocolate beer cupcakes.
Helen says
17 Mar 15 at 8:50 pmThanks, Cheri! I was expecting to make a total mess of these, but was pleasantly surprised!
Mariana @The Candid Kitchen says
16 Mar 15 at 10:40 pmHelen I am so glad that you explain why people add beer to cakes, you see all these Guiness cakes around St Patrick’s day and I am wondering what makes them so special. Have to give it a go x
Helen says
17 Mar 15 at 8:49 pmOh, thanks, Mariana! Actually, it was a bit difficult to describe why it’s good because the flavour is … well, hard to describe. Glad you think I did an OK job, though 😉
Karly says
17 Mar 15 at 1:12 amThese look rich and delicious! Perfect for St. Patty’s!
Helen says
17 Mar 15 at 8:49 pmHi, Karly! Glad you like them!
Joanne says
17 Mar 15 at 12:04 pmI LOOOOVVEE chocolate and guinness together! AND chocolate and peanut butter together!! SO I think they likely make for the perfect cupcake threesome.
Helen says
17 Mar 15 at 8:47 pmLove that … a cupcake threesome! I must admit they make for a killer cupcake. Glad you approve of them, Joanne! 🙂
Nicky says
17 Mar 15 at 2:26 pmThose cupcakes looks amazing. I love your photos. Thank you so much for trying my recipe. They are deliciously dangerous, but ohhh so good.
Helen says
17 Mar 15 at 8:45 pmHi, Nicky! I’m so happy you approve! Thank you again for the amazing recipe. These are my new favourite dessert! Deliciously dangerous indeed!!
Olivia - Primavera Kitchen says
17 Mar 15 at 2:55 pmThey look so gorgeous and I bet they are extremely delicious! Cute too 😉
Helen says
17 Mar 15 at 8:44 pmHello, Olivia! Thank you so much! 🙂
mila furman says
17 Mar 15 at 3:27 pmThis looks great!!! I am always wary of “healthy” dessert recipes 🙂 But I bet the frosting changes all that !
Helen says
17 Mar 15 at 8:43 pmHehe … me too! These aren’t ‘healthy’ really – they just have honey instead of sugar and a bit less butter. But yes, the frosting makes sure these aren’t half the dessert they are supposed to be 😉
Oh, thanks for passing by, by the way! 🙂
Consuelo | Honey & Figs says
17 Mar 15 at 6:43 pmHelen, these cupcakes couldn’t look any more delicious if they tried!! I’m loving the chocolate peanut butter comb, and they do look super moist indeed! xx
Helen says
17 Mar 15 at 8:41 pmHi, Consuelo! And thank you so much for the compliments on the cupcakes! 🙂
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
17 Mar 15 at 11:50 pmWhat a fun recipe Helen and Happy St Patrick’s Day!! 😀
Helen says
19 Mar 15 at 6:27 pmThank you, Lorraine … same to you!!
Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron says
18 Mar 15 at 3:13 amHappy St Patick’s Day, Helen! Love the looks of these cupcakes! I’ve made a Guinness chocolate cake for few birthdays, but never in cupcake form. Love that frosting, too 🙂
Helen says
19 Mar 15 at 6:26 pmNow there’s an idea – to make a big choc-guinness cake! I’ll try that next year!
Hope you have a great weekend!
celyn says
18 Mar 15 at 10:02 amwow these look great! Thanks for sharing!
styleandchocolates
Helen says
19 Mar 15 at 6:26 pmThanks, Celyn!
Allie | Baking a Moment says
18 Mar 15 at 8:08 pmYour piping is gorgeous! I can’t believe that is your first attempt- you’re a natural! The combination of flavors here sounds sooo lovely…. ! 🙂
Helen says
19 Mar 15 at 6:25 pmHi, Allie. Wow, I consider that to be a compliment indeed!! Thank you!
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry says
18 Mar 15 at 10:01 pmMy everything is drooling right now Helen.
Helen says
19 Mar 15 at 6:24 pm🙂 Glad these had that effect on you!
Izzy says
19 Mar 15 at 4:24 amI don’t really celebrate St. Patrick’s Day much either, but I always need an excuse to eat delicious cupcakes like this! And although St. Patrick’s Day is over, I still want these! I love the chocolate and peanut butter combo here 🙂
Helen says
19 Mar 15 at 6:24 pmYup, I don’t want to eat these JUST for St. Paddy’s either! 🙂
Sherry from sherryspickings says
21 Mar 15 at 5:19 amWow these look divine and easy to make. Must make! And PB icing. So yum.
Helen says
21 Mar 15 at 6:08 pmHello, Sherry! Please do try these – they’re delish!!
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
14 May 15 at 2:58 pmI don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s day either – but if these were on the menu – I, too, just might start as I would love for my kitchen to be filled with an “intense rich dark chocolaty aroma” 🙂
These look wonderful, Helen – I do love me some peanut butter frosting with a chocolate cupcake!
Helen says
14 May 15 at 5:58 pmGlad you like these, Shashi. Oooh, now I want to make these again!