Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
Everyone seems to love chocolate Guinness cake, so I made a cupcake version. As someone who is not a fan of beer, I can say without bias (or… regardless of my bias?) that these are divine.
The cakes themselves are made with dark stout or porter (Guinness is commonly used in cake, but a local stout-or even a black lager-would be just fab) and the lower ratio of beer:butter:icing sugar on top makes them resemble a foamy pint. The little cakes are are dense and moist, and the frosting, also spiked with stout, doesn’t taste of beer but has a buttery, caramelly flavor that I found completely addictive – I’m sure the use of butter and sugar helps in this regard.
To get swirly-topped cupcakes like these, spoon the frosting into a zip-lock bag, seal, snip off a corner and pipe it out. Easy – and no clean up!
Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the Guinness over medium heat; remove from heat, pour into a bowl and whisk in sugar and cocoa. Whisk in the sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt just until blended. Divide the batter between paper-lined cupcake tins and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes, until tops are springy to the touch.
To make the frosting, beat the butter, confectioners’ sugar and Guinness until you have a spreadable frosting.
Wait until the cupcakes have cooled completely before frosting.
Ingredients
Directions
In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the Guinness over medium heat; remove from heat, pour into a bowl and whisk in sugar and cocoa. Whisk in the sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt just until blended. Divide the batter between paper-lined cupcake tins and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes, until tops are springy to the touch.
To make the frosting, beat the butter, confectioners’ sugar and Guinness until you have a spreadable frosting.
Wait until the cupcakes have cooled completely before frosting.
Thanks for the P.S., Julie. But here’s the question: is there a little pocket of air under all that icing? When I start swirling the icing (and I cut a bag, like you suggested) around the outside edge, moving towards the center and simultaneously going up, it leaves a gap that then collapses inward.
Or maybe you start from the center, move out, and then move back in (and up) again?
Do my questions make any sense?
That makes total sense! for sure -whatever works for you!
I wonder if you could make those with Strongbow icing, and then they’d be a Crown Float in cupcake form…
oooooh – brilliant! funny, I pulled out a can of Strongbow (thought it was a Guinness!) and wondered the same, but didn’t make the crown float connection!
Awesome idea! Love these cupcakes…they look delicious! 🙂
Made these on the weekend to taste-test in preparation for our annual St. Pat’s Party! One recipe made 18 dozen so now I need to make enough for 75 people. 🙂
They are yummy!
I love the idea of this icing!
I made these cupcakes, and they are fabulous. The only thing is if you want to do the swirly top icing, you have to double the icing, there’s not enough for all the cupcakes!
Julie,
I am a hugggggge fan 🙂
Quick question. Can these be made a day in advance and stored in the fridge?
Aw, shucks! I’m blushing here at my desk in my PJs.
You could totally make them in advance. Refrigerate them only if you frost them first (and even then, only to keep the frosting from sagging) – baked goods like bread actually go stale faster in the fridge than at room temp. (That’s why they invented bread boxes!)
Thanks!
I made these last night for the office and they were a hit. The only complaint I received was that I should have also offered a bottle of Guinness with each cupcake. 😉
I followed the recipe exactly and I was able to get 20 cupcakes. Each cupcake well was filled up with 1/4 cup of batter. I didn’t do the fancy frosting design, I just iced them so they’d fit in the cupcake carrier and a light sprinkling of green sanding sugar on top of the frosting. One of my co-workers loved them so much that she wants a black & tan birthday cake. 🙂 Thank you for a great recipe.
Thanks Julie….these are my new favorite cupcake and that’s high praise ’cause I’mnot usually a cupcake person.
I adore cupcakes, and these look incredible! I’m more of a Strongbow girl myself, but I would buy Guinness just for these!
This was inspiring! I decided to celebrate St. Patricks day as an excuse to make these. I did Guinness braised lamb shanks for dinner with mashed potatoes. We finished dinner with these cupcakes. My husbands thinks we should have a big celebration for St. Patricks day every year now.
Holy hell, these look AWESOME! I’m a HUGE black and tan fan, so I can’t wait to try these. Perfect for St Patty’s Day!
My frosting looks curtled. What did I do wrong? How can I fix it
The frosting is tricky, but for those having problems with it, this might help.
I used 3/4 cup butter to 3 cups of powdered sugar.
Measure and allow Guinness to sit a few minutes, to reduce the foam. This helps alot.
Cream the Butter and Powdered Sugar together first, until the two are well incorporated. (Will be lumpy at this time.)
Add the Guinness slowly into the mix, a drizzle at a time. You will be able to see the frosting come together and watch the consistency. Adding too much at once will cause it to seperate and get the ‘curdled’ consistency.
Hope it helps!
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