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Close-up view of an Irish coffee cupcake. Cupcake is made of a espresso chocolate cake base, topped with an Irish liqueur buttercream frosting and chocolate shavings. The cupcake has a large bite taken from it, and is resting on an open cupcake liner. Behind it are two more cupcakes on the left and a bottle of Baileys on the right.

Irish Coffee Cupcakes

Cashmere & Cocktails
These Irish Coffee Cupcakes are made with a decadent chocolate base and topped with a sweet Irish cream frosting. If you're a fan of Baileys, you're going to love these!
5 from 6 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 cupcakes
Calories 481 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Stand mixer or handheld electric mixer
  • 1 12-cup muffin pan
  • 1 piping bag optional
  • 1 1M piping tip optional

Ingredients
  

For the cupcake base

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder finely ground
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs large
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • ¾ cup warm coffee

For the frosting

  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened
  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 3 tablespoon Irish cream liqueur
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions
 

For the cupcake base

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt and whisk until evenly distributed. Set this bowl of dry ingredients aside.
  • In a medium bowl, combine eggs, granulated sugar, oil and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer using the whisk attachment until smooth.
  • Carefully pour the wet ingredients, buttermilk and warm coffee into the dry ingredient bowl. Stir on low until the ingredients are just combined.
  • Scoop the cupcake batter into the prepared cupcake pan, filling ¾ of the paper liner.
  • Bake cupcakes for 20-22 minutes. Cool completely before moving on to the frosting.

For the frosting

  • Add the softened butter to a large mixing bowl. Beat the butter until creamy. Then, add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and Irish cream liqueur. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. If the frosting is too thick, simply add more Irish cream 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
  • Frost the cupcakes using a piping bag and your favourite piping tip. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings if desired. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

If you do not have a piping bag and piping tip on hand, it's possible to pipe the frosting by cutting out a small corner of a Ziplock bag and using this instead. No Ziplocks handy? That's Ok. Simply frost your cupcakes with a spatula or the straight edge of knife instead!

Nutrition

Calories: 481kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 5gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 259mgPotassium: 153mgFiber: 2gSugar: 48gVitamin A: 309IUCalcium: 60mgIron: 2mg
Keyword baileys, chocolate, cupcake recipe, cupcakes, dessert recipes, espresso, irish cream, st patricks day
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!