These chocolate Guinness cupcakes are filled with Irish whiskey ganache and topped with Baileys Irish Cream frosting! They're delicious, edible variations of a (not PC) cocktail. Regardless of what you call them, they are delicious celebratory sweets perfect to honor St. Patrick's Day!

(This recipe was originally published in March 2013, but was updated with new photos and content in 2025).
Long after your green tee-shirts and shamrock-covered hats are put into hibernation, these cupcakes will still haunt you. These chocolate Guinness cupcakes are inspired by a cocktail where a shot of Irish whiskey and Baileys Irish Cream is dropped into a pint of Irish stout, typically Guinness.
Unlike the alcoholic beverage, which can curdle if not drunk fast enough, these cupcakes will not give you a hangover the next day (contrary to popular belief). The cupcakes themselves acquire an earthiness from the Guinness, but otherwise taste mostly of chocolate. Moist, delicious, and fluffy chocolate. The best kind!
The Irish whiskey-spiked ganache filling is reminiscent of those little chocolates filled with liquor from the mid-1990s. Meanwhile, the Baileys buttercream is absolute boozy decadence, yet still fairly tame. There's only about ½ teaspoon per cupcake, so don't feel too guilty.
St. Patrick's Day is typically a holiday of excess so if you're not being a little naughty, then what's the point?
Ingredient notes
- Guinness: Although you could you another stout beer, you really should just stick with Guinness, lest the leprechauns will get you!
- Cocoa Powder: I use regular, not Dutch process, cocoa powder for this recipe.
- Sour Cream: This adds incredible moisture and a bit of tang to the chocolate Guinness cupcake batter. Full fat is best, but light sour cream works too.
- Chocolate: Use good quality bittersweet chocolate, and chop it by hand. Avoid using chocolate chips which contain stabilizers and can impact the quality and texture of the ganache.
- Whiskey: Ideally, this should be Irish whiskey (Jameson is a good choice). I don't use a lot, but if you want a more pronounced whiskey flavor, add a little more (I won't tell).
- Baileys Irish Cream: A little goes a long way! With only a few tablespoons you'll have the most incredible Baileys frosting you've ever had in your life.
How to make them
Start by making the chocolate Guinness cupcakes. Bring Guinness and butter to a simmer in small saucepan over medium heat.
Add cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Meanwhile, whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to blend.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the egg and sour cream.
Add the slightly cooled stout-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine.
Next, add the flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined.
Divide the batter among 12 cupcake liners in a muffin pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, then cool the cupcakes completely before filling and decorating.
Meanwhile, make the Irish whiskey ganache filling by chopping the chocolate and transferring to a heatproof bowl. Heat heavy cream until simmering and pour it over the chopped chocolate.
Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. Next, add soft butter and whiskey and stir until combined.
Let the ganache cool until it's thick but still soft enough to be piped.
Meanwhile, cut the centers out of the cooled chocolate Guinness cupcakes. Put the cooled ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
To make the Baileys Irish Cream frosting, whip room temperature butter in the bowl of an electric mixer for several minutes until fluffy. Add powdered sugar a little at a time, until fluffy and thick.
Drizzle in the Baileys and whip it until combined.
Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitting with a decorative tip and frost the chocolate Guinness cupcakes as desired.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
To cut out the centers of the cupcakes for filling, use a 1-inch round cookie cutter, paring knife, or melon baller to scoop or remove a portion of the interior of the cupcake. Go most of the way into the cupcake but do not cut through the bottom. Aim for ⅔ of the way.
To partially prep these chocolate Guinness cupcakes in advance, bake the cupcakes a week or two ahead of time and store them, well wrapped, in the freezer. You can also fill them before you freeze them. They also keep filled (or filled and frosted) in the fridge for a day. Any longer and they will start to get stale.
Other recipes you may like
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Red Wine Buttercream
- Margarita Cupcakes
- Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
- Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Baileys Frosting and Irish Whiskey Ganache Filling
Ingredients
Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes:
- ½ cup Guinness stout beer
- 4 ounces (113 grams / 1 stick) unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons (30 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup sour cream
Whiskey Ganache Filling:
- 4 ounces (113 grams) bittersweet chocolate
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ tablespoon Irish whiskey or to taste
Baileys Buttercream:
- 4 ounces (113 grams / 1 stick) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (150 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons Baileys Irish cream
Instructions
- Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 cupcake cups with paper liners.
- Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to combine.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg and sour cream. Add the stout-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add the flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until smooth and no longer streaky.
- Divide the batter among the cupcake liners, filling them ⅔ to ¾ of the way. Bake until a tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 17 to 19 minutes. Cool cupcakes completely.
- Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the heavy cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. Ten to twenty seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.
- Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes).
- Fill the cupcakes: Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter, paring knife, or melon baller (my personal choice), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for ⅔ of the way. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
- Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment for several minutes until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, until fluffy and thick. Drizzle in the Baileys and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.
- Frost the cupcakes as desired, making sure to cover and hide the filling.
Notes
- Do ahead: You can bake the cupcakes a week or two in advance and store them, well wrapped, in the freezer. You can also fill them before you freeze them. They also keep filled — or filled and frosted — in the fridge for a day. (Longer, they will start to get stale.)
- This recipe uses kosher salt (aka cooking salt, kitchen salt, coarse salt outside of the US). If you are using table salt, definitely scale down the salt as that is a saltier type of salt! The type of salt will make a big difference in how salty your food tastes, so keep that in mind.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Carm says
Love these flavors so can't wait to make these. Have you ever made this as a cake?
Victoria says
Hi Carm,
I've never adapted this into a cake but I am sure it could be done! You should be able to bake the batter in two 9-inch round cake pans, though I'm not sure how long the baking time would be (you'd need to keep an eye on it and check with a cake tester). The ganache would work well as a cake filling and the buttercream should be plenty to cover the top and sides. If you end up trying this is layer cake form, I'd love to hear how it goes! Enjoy 🙂
Kayla says
Made these for a family get together for the adults and they all LOVED them! Even the people who didn’t like sweets complimented them!
Victoria says
Hi Kayla,
I'm so glad the guests at your party loved these cupcakes! I love them too 😉
AJ says
These are soooooooo good. Cheers!