I don’t normally need a holiday as an excuse to buy Bailey’s, but when this time of year comes around, I definitely stock up. Bailey’s on the rocks is probably my favorite way to enjoy it, but whipped up into a cupcake with rich buttercream is a close second. I literally had to restrain myself from eating all of the frosting before it made it onto the cupcakes, it’s that good! I actually made these along side my Red Hot Cupcakes from last week — I used the same white cake base with Bailey’s substituted for the buttermilk and a little cinnamon mixed in. The taste doesn’t come through that strongly since most of the alcohol gets baked out, so I also brushed some Bailey’s on the tops of the cupcakes as well. Doesn’t really matter though, the white cake is still delicious and the Bailey’s definitely comes through in the buttercream.
I also wanted to use this post as an opportunity to share how easy and fun it is to use scrapbook paper, lollipop sticks, and some ribbon to totally transform the look of your cupcakes. I have invested more money than I’d ever like to admit on scrapbooking supplies (my other major hobby, makes me a super cool 24 year old, huh?), and it’s nice to put them to good use! I found these pages in a old stack from a few years ago, and I love how spring-y the colors are. Granted the juxtaposition of pastels fit for a baby shower and alcohol-laden cupcakes is a little mismatched, I was just making use of what I had. Here’s the link for the template I used for the cupcake wrappers from Skip to my Lou, and I used hot glue to seal the seams. Use any paper you want, scalloped scissors, decorative stickers — the possibilities are endless! Many times the true beauty of a cupcake wrapper gets lost once all the grease from the cupcakes seeps through, and this is a great way to ensure your cupcakes are colorful and clean looking. It’s a little extra work, but I think totally worth it!
For the Bailey’s cupcakes:
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
12 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 whole eggs + 2 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
For the Bailey’s buttercream:
1 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp Bailey’s Irish Cream
– Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners.
– In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
– In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
– Add eggs and egg whites one at a time, beating on low between each addition. Add vanilla.
– Add flour slowly in 3 additions, alternating with Bailey’s, starting and ending with flour.
– Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake 15-17 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
– For the frosting, beat butter in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, until completely mixed. Add the Bailey’s and beat until well combined.
– Poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes and brush some Bailey’s on each before frosting.
– Load frosting into a piping bag fit with a large tip and decorate as desired.
Same disclaimer as last time, if you want to frost all 24 cupcakes with as much frosting as I’ve pictured above, you’ll want to double the frosting recipe.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! Here’s another festive idea from the site last year if you’re craving brownies instead: Guinness Brownie Bites with Bailey’s Cream Cheese Frosting
Love the toppers :)
Oh my these look delish! I love the wrappers and picks!
Ok. You and I must be twins because I love making icing with Baileys and I only drink it with cream (heaven!). Plus I’m a 22 year old that has the hobbies of cooking, blogging and scrapbooking too! You aren’t alone!
Definitely trying this out!! I got some peoples that absolutely love Bailey’s!!
these look adorable
OMGoodness!! Those look SOOO good, i cannot WAIT to try these!!
http://boystoriesbymom.blogspot.com/
These sound great! I’ll have to try these next. I made a Double Chocolate Stout cupcake recipe with Irish Cream Buttercream last night and posted it to my blog. (www.trialanderin.com) The dbl choc stout brings unbelievable flavor to the cupcakes. So good! Check it out. Bookmarking this for next time! Thanks!
You cupcakes always look that good and stunning!
Ok, i just made these for my husband and i and they were to die for!!! (we made ourselves sick on the icing! lol)
Boystoriesbymom — I’m so glad you tried them and loved them too! I get very excited hearing success stories from my recipes :)
Oh my gosh! *groaning* I’m a huge Irish cream girl, so imagining that in a pile of frosting is sending my desire for dessert (yes, at 10:30 am =) over the edge.
I just found your blog via TastyKitchen and I’m LOVING it! Great pictures, awesome recipes–heck yeah!
I just showed these to the little girl from the family I personal chef for and she is in love!! We are def going to be making these tonight for dessert!
Yumm and YUM! These look beautiful {and delicious!}
So cute! I love the idea of using up scrapbook paper. I too have reams and reams that I bought- but I no longer do that stuff. Thanks!
your cupcake wrapper is a marvellous idea! I too have spent a lot of money on scrapbooking supplies. but making your own cupcake wrapper is a lot cheaper than buying them ready-made. well done!
Can kids eat these? I know that Baileys is obviously alcohol, however do you think that the alcohol in the frosting would be okay? I have two kids that love, love, love cupcakes, and I enjoy making various kinds, but wonder if I should frost their cupcakes with a different frosting or if they would be okay eating these….any advice would be great!
I would suggest omitting the Bailey’s for the kiddos — they’ll love the frosting just the same. Once you frost all of their cupcakes, add some Bailey’s to the remaining frosting and pipe the rest on yours! Enjoy :)
So I just finished making a batch of these. The flavor is super tasty in both the cake and the frosting, but the cupcakes have a super-dense texture to them. I noticed that the batter was especially thick–any tips on what I might be doing wrong? I’m a novice cupcake baker, and this is a really tasty recipe that I’d love to get right.
Kat – did you overmix the batter maybe? When you add the dry into the wet, just make sure to be very gentle and don’t over do it. Also, you could try using cake flour instead – that has worked for me in other recipes! Sorry they didn’t come out so great for you the first time, but let me know if any modifications work out.
I just made them last night. My batter was very thick as well. I also noticed that they were a bit on the dry side after baking. I will try them again with cake flour and less beating. I mixed in the dry with a mixer…Should I have hand mixed it in? Other than that…Excellent!
It looks delicious !!!
I just discover your blog, and I love it !
can you also post on how to make the cupcake wrapper?? Tnx!
Is it necessary to seperate the eggs in this mix or can I skip that step?
You want to use 2 eggs not separated, and then 2 egg whites to yield a “whiter” cake that has a lighter texture than if you used 4 whole eggs. I can’t speak to what the batter would be like with 4 whole eggs, sorry!
i made these and love love love them! and everyone that ate them loved them too <3 definitely making it again. oh, and best frosting i have ever had!
Wow Wow Wow!!! I made these and my family LOVED the Bailey’s Cupcakes! I made mini cupcakes and they are a great little treat!
Thank you for a hit recipe I’ll make many more times!!!
Do you think this recipe could be formatted to be a cake rather than cupcakes? Any suggestions on how one would do that? My birthday is St. Patrick’s day and this recipe would be perfect!
Erica — February 14th, 2012 @ 1:10 pm
Lindsay I think you could adapt it to a cake – just double the recipe for the frosting. Good luck and Happy Birthday!
I just made the cupcakes and I usually test if a cupcake is cooked enough by whether it bounces back when I gently press on the cake. I went over the amount of time suggested and this still didn’t happen. A toothpick came out clean though. Should I go by that? I don’t want to overbake. Any tips would be much appreciated.
Erica — March 13th, 2012 @ 12:04 pm
Sorry I didn’t get to reply sooner – I would go by the toothpick test. How did they end up coming out??
Thanks for responding. I LOVE your blog. They came out kind of dense. I think I overworked the batter a bit. I havent baked in a while so I am a little rusty. Any tips on avoiding this in the future?
Making these for this weekend, hope they are as tasty as the look!
Going to make these RIGHT now! :) I’ll link back to your site once I do!
I made the cupcakes and the cakes are great but I don’t know why I always have trouble with frosting. It came out to be runnny and it flowed over the cake part :( Definitely not like your pictures! What should I do to make it more stable and pretty so I can actually frost it nicely??
I made these tonight. As a first time cupcaker they came out amazing! Thanks for the great recipe!
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How could i make this but chocolate? I dont know how much to add or take away, can you help?
Erica — March 22nd, 2012 @ 12:23 pm
I would suggest using this chocolate cake recipe for the cupcakes: http://www.ericasweettooth.com/2010/05/chocolate-cupcakes-with-peanut-butter.html
And instead of using 1 cup of coffee in the recipe, do 1/2 cup coffee and 1/2 cup Bailey’s. Good luck!
OMG!! i just made these and it taste soooo awesome!! i usually don’t comment on stuff but i definitely think that this recipe deserves its recognition! absolutely lovely and being a Bailey’s lover… its like the best recipe that combines my love for cupcakes and Irish Cream! i’m so glad i found your blog! it’s a keeper!
Hi :)
If I’m using cake flour, do I still need to add that much baking powder?
I usually use 1.5 – 2 tsp
thanks :)
Erica — April 19th, 2012 @ 9:39 pm
I’m not sure, sorry! Maybe try googling if you’re still not sure
do you use salted or unslated butter? and what kind/size piping tip did you use?
Erica — August 2nd, 2012 @ 1:33 am
Unsalted butter, and it was a large open star tip, like a Wilton 1M
I’ve made these twice now and I absolutely cannot get over how delicious they are! Nor can the people I give them to :) Thanks for all of your unbelievably delicious posts!
I am def gonna try these but am going to experiment with the mint chocolate or MAYBE the caramel in the cake to give flavor but stick w/ original in frosting. that mint chocolate flavor is amazing! n put it in a cake w/ a bailey’s frosting…. going to store now lol
Mine came out a little dense and dry as well, but I did use 3 eggs. I cooked them for only 15 minutes, but my 2-year-old son was “helping” so it’s very possible that we overworked the batter (because I forgot the green food coloring until the end so we did extra mixing). I should have noticed to treat these more like muffins. :)
However, the taste was great. The dash of cinnamon really brings out the Bailey’s flavor. Definitely worth trying again. Thanks!
Hi,
These were so yummy! My only issue was my cupcakes were a bit dry. Do you use salted or unsalted butter? Any recommendations to make them moister? Will make these cupcakes for my daughters graduation party!!
Thanks!
Erica — May 5th, 2014 @ 1:01 am
Hmmm, you might want to try using cake flour instead of all purpose if you found them dry. I use unsalted butter in all of my recipes. And maybe try baking them for a minute or two shorter and see if they are done any sooner, maybe your oven cooks differently and overbaked them a bit. Glad you liked them anyway!
The frosting is to die for!! Cupcakes, not so much. Very dense. Next time I will use the frosting over devil’s food cupcakes…