Who Needs A Cocktail When You Can Have A Cupcake

Editor's Note: A blog by Marilyn featuring this subject matter is currently featured by a major cupcake blog, Cupcakes Take The Cake. It's the fifth time our resident baker has been featured on that site. Of course, she's featured here just about every week.

As if my favorite espresso martinis weren’t decadent enough I made espresso martini cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day with buttercream icing made with Bailey’s Irish Cream and a few of its flavorful, sweet, high octane friends—Frangelico and Creme de Cacao.

These friends play together beautifully and are three of the five ingredients in the espresso martinis that I love.

Bailey’s is creamy goodness. Frangelico is hazelnut-flavored liqueur and Crème de Cacao has a light chocolate flavor.

For the cupcakes, I substituted the liquid ingredients in the batter with two espresso martinis. Texturally, the recipe works but the intensity of the alcohol needs some refining but what I came up with for the icing is absolute perfection and I’d like to share the Irish love with you and how to decorate the shamrock cupcakes which you can see in the photos or read the directions with photos on my regular blog—Pink Martinis and Pearls.

To decorate the cupcakes, I took inspiration from classic Irish Belleek which has a basket weave design with shamrocks.

Making the basket weave is not difficult. I've included a photo to show you how to create the effect using a #47 decorating piping tip.

What is very cool about this tip is that it is smooth on one side and grooved on the other. This one tip will make both the smooth lines and the wavy lines of the basket weave.

To finish decorating the top of the cupcake I made a shell border with a #14 decorating tip and brushed the border and the wavy cross lines with gold luster powder after the icing had crusted. (see photo)

For the shamrock cupcake top decoration, I melted white candy coating and placed it in the I wrote about previously but using just the shamrock indentation on the mold.

When the candy shamrock hardened in the fridge, I popped it out of the mold and brushed on luster powders over the shamrock in mallard green and gold and secured it on top of the cupcake with a dab of icing.

I also think the cupcakes are pretty without the gold powder and more like the Belleek’s tone-on-tone pattern. (see photo)

Either way…

Remember to eat St. Patty’s Day cupcakes responsibly. :)

Bailey’s Original Irish Cream, Frangelico and Crème de Cacao Buttercream Icing Recipe

Recipe by Marilyn Johnson

The icing would pair well on any chocolate, mocha, vanilla or hazelnut cupcake.

2 lbs. powdered sugar, sifted

1 1/3 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. amount total combination of Bailey’s Irish Cream, Frangelico and light Crème de Cacao (I used mostly Bailey’s then added a splash of Frangelico and Crème de Cacao each to bring it up to the 1/2 c. amount, more or less)

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (can substitute vanilla extract)

1/4 c. milk, to thin out to piping or spreading consistency

Beat butter with powdered sugar and liqueurs alternately. Add vanilla and continue to beat. Add enough milk to thin to piping or spreading consistency.

Makes approximately 5 cups—enough for 2 dozen cupcakes plus a few generous spatula tastings.

Note: I only make cupcakes for family and unsuspecting friends but I do love sharing recipes and decorating tips with everyone.  :)